RIP Randy Boone

 

Randy Boone, Actor on ‘The Virginian,’ Dies at 8 

He sang and played guitar on the NBC show and was a regular on ‘It's a Man's World’ and ‘Cimarron Strip’ as well.

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

August 31, 2025

 

Randy Boone, who rode his own horse and portrayed the singing and guitar-playing ranch hand Randy Benton on the long-running NBC series The Virginian, has died. He was 83.

Boone died Thursday, his wife, Lana, told The Hollywood Reporter. She did not want to divulge any other details.

The North Carolina native also was a regular on two other 1960s series, but each of those lasted just one season: the 1962-63 NBC comedy-drama It’s a Man’s World and the 1967-68 CBS Western Cimarron Strip, starring Stuart Whitman.

And in the 1963 Twilight Zone episode “The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms,” Boone starred as one of the National Guardsmen (Warren Oates and Ron Foster are the others) who somehow are sent back in time to take part in the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

A contract player at Universal, Boone joined The Virginian, which starred James Drury and Doug McClure, midway through its second season in February 1964. He stuck around for 46 episodes through the end of the fourth season in April 1966 before he was let go.

“I was told that [producer] Frank [Price] thought I was window dressing and wasn’t needed on the show, but I feel that I was needed as much as anybody,” he said in Paul Green’s 2006 book, A History of Television’s The Virginian, 1962-1971.

“I think a show suffers when you make big changes and you lose the actors that caused the people to fall in love with it.”

Clyde Randy Boone was born Jan. 17, 1942, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He graduated from Fayetteville Senior High School in 1960 and spent a brief time at North Carolina State College in Raleigh, where he played guitar at house parties and rarely went to class.

He told Green that he had a plan. “I’m going to take my guitar and I’m going to hitchhike around the country and have some fun until the Army drafts me and then I’ll let them beat some discipline into me,” he said. “I couldn’t wait to get out of school and have a good time.”

After traveling around the country for 18 months, he ended up in Los Angeles in 1962. When someone he was playing music with told him a TV producer was looking for a young man to play a folk-singing college student on a new series called on It’s a Man’s World, he auditioned and was hired.

Boone signed a contract with Universal Studios and was cast as Vern Hodges, who shares a houseboat on the Ohio River with two friends (Glenn Corbett, Ted Bessell) on It’s a Man’s World.

The show, though admired by critics, was canceled after just four months on the air amid tough competition. Boone and future That Girl star Bessell went across the country on a barnstorming campaign to save it, to no avail.

Boone was advised that knowing how to ride a horse would come in handy in the age of TV Westerns, so he bought one named Clyde and became an expert rider. That skill — and the fact he was still under contract — led Price to sign him up for The Virginian.

Boone said he would let Universal use his horse for free if he could board him at the studio, and executives agreed. He noted that Clyde wasn’t a Hollywood-trained animal, so “he acted very much like a real horse, and I got a lot of fan mail about how he didn’t stand still.”

Boone was introduced to viewers of The Virginian on the episode “First to Thine Own Self,” which premiered in February 1964. His character, a drifter, finds a home at Shiloh and a friend in Betsy Garth (Roberta Shore) after he protects a young girl whose father had been murdered.

Boone said that he wrote many of the songs that he performed on the show, saying he wanted to “feel like I’m putting something special into the work.” He signed away the rights to the songs but was surprised and delighted to receive royalties years later.

(He and Shore were featured on a 1965 Decca album, The Singing Stars of The Virginian, and he followed with a solo effort, Ramblin Randy.)

He played deputy U.S. marshal/aspiring reporter Francis Wilde on Cimarron Strip.

Boone also showed up on episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Wagon Train, Bonanza, The Fugitive, Combat!, Hondo, Emergency!, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Kung Fu, Gunsmoke and Highway to Heaven and in such films as Country Boy (1966), Terminal Island (1973), Dr. Minx (1975) and The Wild Pair (1987).

He left acting in the late 1980s and worked in construction.

BOONE, Randy (Clyde Wilson Randall Boone Jr.)

Born: 1/17/1942, Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S.A.

Died: 8/28/2025, Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S.A.

 

Randy Boone’s westerns – actor:

Wagon Train (TV) – 1963 (David Garner, Noah Bancroft, Private Jamie)

The Virginian (TV) – 1964-1966 (Randy Benton)

Bonanza (TV) – 1966 (Colter Preston)

Cimarron Strip (TV) – 1967-1968 (Francis Wilde)

Hondo and the Apaches (TV) – 1967 (Sean Gallagher)

Hondo (TV) – 1967 (Sean Gallagher)

Backtrack – 1969 (Randy)

The Quest (TV) – 1976 (Kelso)

Gunsmoke (TV) – 1975 (Hub Miller)

Kung Fu (TV) – 1975 (Spiff)

Wagon Train (TV) – 1963 (David Garner, Noah Bancroft, Private Jamie)

RIP Victor Agramunt

 

Ficha eldoblaje.com

August 30, 2025

The veteran voice actor and dubber Victor Agramunt died in Madrid, Spain on August 30th. He was born Rafael Víctor Agramunt Oliver in Cabanes, Castellón, Spain on January 29, 1938. He was considered one of the best Spanish dubbing actors and directors, after more than 60 years of professional practice. In the 1950s he began to collaborate in Radio Castellón, of the SER chain, as an actor, announcer and host of different programs of the station. Although Barcelona is where he did his first dubbing work, it was in Madrid, where he arrived in the mid-1960s, where he developed his fruitful professional career. He became part of the cast of actors of the Madrid studio, "Sincronía". Among his first notable roles were: James Dean in "East of Eden (film)", Brad Davis in Midnight Express", Ryan O'Neal in "What's Wrong with Me Doctor?" or Dustin Hoffman in "Kramer vs. Kramer", Timothy Bottoms in "Johnny Picked Up His Rifle", among many other roles.

AGRAMUNT, Victor (Rafael Víctor Agramunt Oliver)

Born: 1/29/1938, Cabanes, Castellón, Spain

Died: 8/30/2025, Madrid, Madrid, Spain

 

Victor Agramunt’s westerns – voice dubber:

Charge of the 7th – 1964 [Spanish voice of Ángel Alonso]

Adios Gringo – 1965 [Spanish voice of Massimo Righi]

Murieta! – 1965 [Spanish voice of Pedro Osinaga]

Django Does Not Forgive – 1965 [Spanish voice of ?]

Denver and Rio Grande – 1966 [Spanish voice of ?]

Django Kill – 1966 [Spanish voice of Sancho Gracia]

Johnny West – 1966 [Spanish voice of Bob Felton]

Kid Rodelo – 1966 [Spanish voice of Fernando Hilbeck]

$7.00 to Kill – 1966 [Spanish voice of Roberto Miali]

The Sheriff Won’t Shoot – 1966 [Spanish voice of Sancho Gracia]

Two Thousand Dollars for Coyote – 1966 [Spanish voice of Julio Pérez Tabernero]

A Few Bullets More- 1967 [Spanish voice of Antonio Molino Rojo]

Texas, Adios – 1967 [Spanish voice of Alberto Dell’Acqua]

Dynamite Joe – 1968 [Spanish voice of ?]

The Man With the Long Gun – 1968 [Spanish voice of Clarke Reynolds]

Dead are Countless – 1969 [Spanish voice of ?]

100 Rifles – 1969 [Spanish voice of Eric Braeden]

The Wild Bunch – 1969 [Spanish voice of Jaime Sánchez]

The Big Sky – 1970 [Spanish voice of Dewey Martin]

Chisum – 1970 [Spanish voice of Andrew Prine]

Reverend Colt – 1970 [Spanish voice Guy Madison]

Santana Kills Them All – 1970 [Spanish voice of Alejandro de Enciso]

Young Billy Youn – 1970 [Spanish voice of Robert Walker Jr,]

And the Crows Will Dig Your Grave – 1971 [Spanish voice of Ángel Aranda]

The Cowboys – 1972 [Spanish voice of ?]

Three Musketeers of the West – 1973 [Spanish voice of Giancarlo Prieto]

The Virginian (TV) – 1973 [Spanish voice of Doug McClure]

White Fang – 1973 [Spanish voice of Franco Nero]

Land Raiders – 1974 [Spanish voice of Charles Stalnaker]

The Stranger and the Gunfighter – 1974 [Spanish voice of Lieh Lo]

Annie Oakley – 1935 [1975 Spanish voice of Melvyn Douglas]

Garringo – 1972 [Spanish voice of ?]

Spaghetti Western – 1977 [Spanish voice of Franco Nero]

Apache Woman – 1978 [Spanish voice of Al Cliver]

Whisky and Ghosts – 1978 [Spanish voice of Alberto Terracina]

Cactus Jack – 1980 [Spanish voice of Arnold Schwartzenegger]

Tom Horn – 1980 [Spanish voice of Steve McQueen]

The Black Wolf – 1981 [Spanish voice of Fernando Allende]

Centennial (TV) – 1981 [Spanish voice of Richard Chamberlain]

Revenge of the Black Wolf – 1981 [Spanish voice of Fernando Allende]

Lone Wolf McQuade – 1983 [Spanish voice of Robert Beltran]

Left-Handed Gun – 1958 [1984 Spanish voice of Paul Newman]

Rose Marie – 1936 [1986 Spanish voice of Nelson Eddy]

I Will Fight No More Forever – 1984 [Spanish voice of Ned Romero]

The Unholy Four – 1984 [Spanish voice of Dino Strano]

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid – 1986 [Spanish voice of Kris Ktistofferson]

Rio Bravo – 1988 [Spanish voice of Dean Martin]

Viva Max! – 1986 [Spanish voice of Jack Wakefield]

Sky Bandits – 1988 [Spanish voice of David English]

Montana – 1950 [1990 Spanish voice of Errol Flynn]

The Legend of Texas – 1992 [Spanish voice of William Russ]

Walker, Texas Ranger (TV) – 1993 [Spanish voice of Robert Fuller, Richard Andrew Jones, Ken Kerchival, Lee Majors, Michael Parks, Luce Rains, Judson Scott]

Walker, Texas Ranger (TV) – 1995 [Spanish voice of Aaron Chadwick, James Drury]

The Magnificent 7 (TV) – 1998 [Spanish voice of Robert Vaughn]

Ravenous – 1999 [Spanish voice of Jeffrey Jones]

Cowboys & Aliens – 2011 [Spanish voice of Buck Taylor]

The Raiders – 2011 [Spanish voice of Alfred Ryder]

Forsaken – 2016 [Spanish voice of Donald Sutherland]

AGRAMUNT, Victor (Rafael Víctor Agramunt Oliver)

Born: 1/29/1938, Cabanes, Castellón, Spain

Died: 8/30/2025, Madrid, Madrid, Spain

 

Victor Agramunt’s westerns – voice dubber:

Charge of the 7th – 1964 [Spanish voice of Ángel Alonso]

Adios Gringo – 1965 [Spanish voice of Massimo Righi]

Murieta! – 1965 [Spanish voice of Pedro Osinaga]

Django Does Not Forgive – 1965 [Spanish voice of ?]

Denver and Rio Grande – 1966 [Spanish voice of ?]

Django Kill – 1966 [Spanish voice of Sancho Gracia]

Johnny West – 1966 [Spanish voice of Bob Felton]

Kid Rodelo – 1966 [Spanish voice of Fernando Hilbeck]

$7.00 to Kill – 1966 [Spanish voice of Roberto Miali]

The Sheriff Won’t Shoot – 1966 [Spanish voice of Sancho Gracia]

Two Thousand Dollars for Coyote – 1966 [Spanish voice of Julio Pérez Tabernero]

A Few Bullets More- 1967 [Spanish voice of Antonio Molino Rojo]

Texas, Adios – 1967 [Spanish voice of Alberto Dell’Acqua]

Dynamite Joe – 1968 [Spanish voice of ?]

The Man With the Long Gun – 1968 [Spanish voice of Clarke Reynolds]

Dead are Countless – 1969 [Spanish voice of ?]

100 Rifles – 1969 [Spanish voice of Eric Braeden]

The Wild Bunch – 1969 [Spanish voice of Jaime Sánchez]

The Big Sky – 1970 [Spanish voice of Dewey Martin]

Chisum – 1970 [Spanish voice of Andrew Prine]

Reverend Colt – 1970 [Spanish voice Guy Madison]

Santana Kills Them All – 1970 [Spanish voice of Alejandro de Enciso]

Young Billy Youn – 1970 [Spanish voice of Robert Walker Jr,]

And the Crows Will Dig Your Grave – 1971 [Spanish voice of Ángel Aranda]

The Cowboys – 1972 [Spanish voice of ?]

Three Musketeers of the West – 1973 [Spanish voice of Giancarlo Prieto]

The Virginian (TV) – 1973 [Spanish voice of Doug McClure]

White Fang – 1973 [Spanish voice of Franco Nero]

Land Raiders – 1974 [Spanish voice of Charles Stalnaker]

The Stranger and the Gunfighter – 1974 [Spanish voice of Lieh Lo]

Annie Oakley – 1935 [1975 Spanish voice of Melvyn Douglas]

Garringo – 1972 [Spanish voice of ?]

Spaghetti Western – 1977 [Spanish voice of Franco Nero]

Apache Woman – 1978 [Spanish voice of Al Cliver]

Whisky and Ghosts – 1978 [Spanish voice of Alberto Terracina]

Cactus Jack – 1980 [Spanish voice of Arnold Schwartzenegger]

Tom Horn – 1980 [Spanish voice of Steve McQueen]

The Black Wolf – 1981 [Spanish voice of Fernando Allende]

Centennial (TV) – 1981 [Spanish voice of Richard Chamberlain]

Revenge of the Black Wolf – 1981 [Spanish voice of Fernando Allende]

Lone Wolf McQuade – 1983 [Spanish voice of Robert Beltran]

Left-Handed Gun – 1958 [1984 Spanish voice of Paul Newman]

Rose Marie – 1936 [1986 Spanish voice of Nelson Eddy]

I Will Fight No More Forever – 1984 [Spanish voice of Ned Romero]

The Unholy Four – 1984 [Spanish voice of Dino Strano]

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid – 1986 [Spanish voice of Kris Ktistofferson]

Rio Bravo – 1988 [Spanish voice of Dean Martin]

Viva Max! – 1986 [Spanish voice of Jack Wakefield]

Sky Bandits – 1988 [Spanish voice of David English]

Montana – 1950 [1990 Spanish voice of Errol Flynn]

The Legend of Texas – 1992 [Spanish voice of William Russ]

Walker, Texas Ranger (TV) – 1993 [Spanish voice of Robert Fuller, Richard Andrew Jones, Ken Kerchival, Lee Majors, Michael Parks, Luce Rains, Judson Scott]

Walker, Texas Ranger (TV) – 1995 [Spanish voice of Aaron Chadwick, James Drury]

The Magnificent 7 (TV) – 1998 [Spanish voice of Robert Vaughn]

Ravenous – 1999 [Spanish voice of Jeffrey Jones]

Cowboys & Aliens – 2011 [Spanish voice of Buck Taylor]

The Raiders – 2011 [Spanish voice of Alfred Ryder]

Forsaken – 2016 [Spanish voice of Donald Sutherland]

RIP Roberto Posse

 

Actor and director Roberto Posse, the architect who had chosen the stage, has died at the age of 77

He had worked between theater, cinema and TV. The funeral in Rome

La Republica

August 30, 2025

 

Roberto Posse, an intense and versatile Turin actor of Italian theater and cinema, was 77 years old, passed away on the night between 27 and 28 August in Rome, at midnight sharp. The disappearance is due to a sudden illness.

Born in Turin and graduated in Architecture, Posse had completed his training at the Accademia del Teatro Stabile. In over forty years of career he has worked with directors such as Aldo Trionfo, Renato Giordano, Barbara Nativi, Jean Baptiste Sastre, Carlo Alighiero in the theater, and in the cinema, among others, with Mauro Bolognini, Alberto Bevilacqua. Vincenzo Salemme, Maurizio Ponzi.

In 2012 he made his successful debut as a director with "Dreams... On a summer night" - Part One and Two. He was also an architect, interior designer, for over 40 years with his fraternal lifelong friend, Giovanni Minardi in the "De Studio Atelier" frequented internationally.

In the theater he has starred in plays such as The Steppenwolf, Venice California, up to Blasted, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Odd Couple. On television he has participated in successful series such as Il bello delle donne, Incantesimo, Regina, Mamma per caso, A child named Jesus, directed among others by Maurizio Ponzi, Carlo Lizzani, Nanni Loy, Giorgio Capitani. In the cinema he has worked with John Frankenheimer (The Year of Terror), Luigi Faccini (Shadow Woman), Vincenzo Salemme (I Saw the Stars), (At the Right Time), Mauro Bolognini (Albergo Roma), Alberto Bevilacqua (The Roses of Gdansk). The funeral will be held on Tuesday, September 2, at 3 p.m., in the Church of Santa Lucia in Circonvallazione Clodia in Rome.

POSSE, Roberto

Born: 10/31/1950, Turin, Piedmont, Italy

Died: 8/28/1950, Rome, Lazio, Italy

 

Roberto Posse’s western – actor:

Django Strikes Again – 1987 (Orlowsky/‘El Diablo’ henchman)

RIP Arthur Brauss

 

"Tatort" actor Arthur Brauss died - he was 89 years old

News 38

8/30/2025

 

From pole vault to acting: Arthur Brauss was a well-known face on German television for many decades. His role in the "Großstadtrevier" brought him great popularity. He also shaped the audience in "Tatort", for example in 1989 in "Keine Tricks, Herr Bülow" or in 1998 in "Bienzle und der Champion".

The Munich native has now died at the age of 89. "Now he has died at home, while his wife Marie sat by his bedside and held his hand." With this news, a close friend confirmed to "Bild" the end of a long artist's life.

"Tatort" actor Arthur Brauss died

Brauss proved his sporting talent early on: in 1954 he won the title of German youth champion in the pole vault with 3.60 metres. But instead of sports, he chose new paths. After his education, he received a scholarship in the USA and studied mathematics and economics. There he discovered his real passion - acting.

In 1963 he made his cinema debut in "Verspätung in Marienborn". This was followed by roles in international films. On German television, he became particularly popular as Richard Block in the "Großstadtrevier". He was also a regular in "Tatort", "Der Alte", "Derrick" or "Polizeiruf 110".

The last TV appearances of Arthur Brauss

He made his last TV appearance in 2014 in "Morden im Norden." After that, he retired from television productions and devoted himself more to the stage in the theater. In 2009, he was the focus of attention at the Jagsthausen Castle Festival as Götz von Berlichingen.

Until old age, he lived with his wife, actress Marie Poccolin, in the Munich district of Schwabing. There his home remained a firm anchor. For many, he remains unforgotten - not least because of his formative appearances in "Tatort".

BRAUSS, Arthur (Artur Brauss)

Born: 7/24/1936, Augsburg, Gau Swabia, Germany

Died: 8/30/2025, Schwabing, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

 

Arthur Brauss’ westerns – actor:

Cry of the Black Wolves - 1972 (Tornado Kid) [as Arthur Brauss]

The Blue Hotel (TV) - 1973 (cowboy) [as Arthur Brauss]

Yankee Dudler - 1973 (Sebastian Lennerwein)

Burning Daylight (TV) - 1975 (Charles ‘Charly’ Clayton) [as Arthur Brauss]

Montana Trap – 1975 (James Wesley) [as Arthur Brauss]

My Friend Winnetou (TV) – 1979 (Lieutenant Robert Merrill) [as Arthur Brauss]

Karl-May-Spiele: Der Schatz im Silbersee (TV) – 2001 (colonel)

RIP Johny Magnus

 

SAG/AFTRA

Summer 2025

 

Born near Frankfurt, Germany on 5 April 1938, Johnny’s journey to the United States from his German birthplace is a story of heartache, disappointment, terror and eventual joy. His father owned a bakery about 30 miles from Frankfurt. When the Nazi party came to power, they demanded that Mr. Magnus hang a Nazi flag over his bakery and place a sign in the window saying Jews were not welcome. Johnny’s mother was half-Jewish and many of their friends and customers were Jewish and Mr. Magnus refused the Nazi request. As political pressure and the threat of losing his life accelerated, Mr. Magnus had to flee the country leaving his wife and children behind. Johnny’s mother was so distraught that she thought of suicide by drowning practically every day. After school, Johnny would run down to the river looking for his mother. After five terrifying years, the family was reunited in upstate New York. Johnny fell in love with radio and that’s how he learned English, listening to "The Shadow" and "The Green Hornet." He spent two decades working as a high-profile personality at MOR station KMPC. His signature bits include "Weather with a Beat." At 16, he filled in at WWRL-New York, then went to WOV, doing remotes from The Baby Grand nightclub. At WABC he did broadcasts from New York's Birdland. A year later, he produced and emceed United Cerebral Palsy Association telethons across the country before moving West.

Johnny started at KGFJ while it was still MOR, moving to KMPC in 1963 as, he said, a "professor of sorts, delivering lessons in popular music." He coined the traveling forecast bit, "weather with a beat" done to a background tune. “I used a rhythm track with Harry James, and it clicked right away. Then Neil Hefti and Count Basie created this form called 'Cute,' which left some holes in it for me to give the weather. I now have different versions."

In 1963, Quincy Jones wrote a song about Johnny, called Nasty Magnus, which showed up on Count Basie's album Little Ol Groove Maker-Basie.

The LA Times called Johnny the "Prince of Darkness," a title originally given to him by Gary Owens, and that eventually proved to be prescient.  He wanted desperately to work days. Johnny said, "I got so tired of getting up from the dinner table and going to work. I wanted more out of life than that. I wanted to be able to go out with a girl at night. In all those years, I never saw a prime time tv show."

In Billboard's 1966, 1967 and 1968 Radio Response Ratings Johnny was voted #1 Pop LP disc jockey. He also scored in the Jazz category as 2nd most influential. In 1974, Johnny left KMPC for KAGB, playing an eclectic mix of jazz, r&b and MOR music. In 1975, he was a tv guest host on KTLA/Channel 5’s locally produced Calendar show. He went to KDWN-Las Vegas in 1978, staying for two years and returning for Bonneville's brief experiment with contemporary Christian music at KBRT. He was a West Coast announcer for ABC/TV. Johnny became part of Music of Your Life Radio Network.

He is also an actor known for The Electric Horseman (1979), Cactus in the Snow (1971) and Batman (1966).

MAGNUS, Johnny (John K. Magnus)

Born: 4/5/1938, Frankfurt, Germany

Died: 5/18/2025, Burbank, California, U.S.A.

 

Johnny Magnus’s western – actor:

The Electric Horseman – 1979 (reporter)

RIP Jacques Dorfmann

 

Elysee

Death of Jacques Dorfmann.

August 27, 2025

 

His name appears in countless credits, and his success illuminated the cinemas for more than thirty years. Baron of the 7the art, renowned producer and director, Jacques Dorfmann has left us.

He was born in Toulouse on December 2, 1945. He did not experience war, but in the footsteps of his father, Robert Dorfmann, producer among many others of La Grande Vadrouille, he learned to tell it. This is how, in 1969, he produced Jean-Pierre Melville's Army of Shadows, and entered the legend, weaving that of the Resistance. In this epic where all the contradictions of an era are mixed in chiaroscuro, he knew how to magnify the courage of those who refused to bow to Nazism, and who, from the maquis of the Alps to the offices of London, were able to give back to France its threatened freedom. Behind the character of the Gaullist Philippe Gerbier, interned in a French camp, escaped, struggling with the Gestapo, it is to an entire generation of resistance fighters that this film-monument paid a magnificent tribute.

Dorfmann worked again with Melville on the thriller The Red Circle (1970), collaborated with Jean-Pierre Mocky and Jean-Luc Godard. He who knew how to become an actor sometimes, as in The Great Silence, mixed his destiny with that of Lino Ventura, Simone Signoret, Alain Delon, André Bourvil, Yves Montand, Jane Fonda, Romy Schneider, Mireille Darc.

Jacques Dorfmann told stories from the dawn of time, from the depths of time and from the distant parts of the earth. Antediluvian land in the resounding War of Fire (1981), which he produced for Jean-Jacques Annaud. Chinese land of Palanquin of Tears (1988), land of ice in Agaguk (1992), for which he was the screenwriter and director. Finally, a Gallic land scarred by war, as he showed in 2001 in his Vercingetorix.

Deploying his productions from Canada to Italy, playing comedy as well as detective stories, Jacques Dorfmann had a taste for genius and depth. He knew the smallest workings of making a film and knew how to project humanity, all of humanity, onto the big screen: vices and splendours, crimes and joys, whether in We Won't Grow Old Together or The Witness. In front of or behind the camera, he knew how to give intimate stories the vibrato of the unforgettable.

The President of the Republic and his wife pay tribute to the work of a man who allowed several generations of spectators to dream and shudder and send their heartfelt condolences to his loved ones and collaborators.

DORFMANN, Jacques

Born: 12/2/1945, Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France

Died: 8/27/2025, France

 

Jacques Dorfmann’s western – actor:

The Great Silence – 1967 (Miguel)

RIP Phil Mulloy

 

Phil Mulloy obituary

The Guardian

By Vera Neubauer

August 27, 2025

 

Phil Mulloy, my life partner, who has died aged 76, was one of Britain’s most fiercely independent voices in animation, known for the dark wit and distinctive visual style of his films.

He found international acclaim with Cowboys (1991), a series of six short films that parodied westerns and masculinity and were produced by Channel 4 and the Arts Council. Later his Ten Commandments shorts (1994–96) and the Intolerance trilogy (2000–04) offered brutal, funny critiques of ideology and human cruelty.

Phil rejected slick studio polish in favour of rawness, rage and provocation, and as a result developed a cult following as an “anti-animator”. His work was celebrated in retrospectives and DVD collections, including with the British Film Institute’s Phil Mulloy: Extreme Animation (1999) and several releases in France by ED Distribution.

Born in Wallasey, Cheshire, Phil was the son of Michael Mulloy, a labourer, and Margaret (nee Griffin) a factory worker. Educated by the Christian Brothers at St Anselm’s college, a grammar school in Birkenhead, he initially wanted to be a priest but ultimately moved away from religion.

He studied painting at Ravensbourne College (now Ravensbourne University London), and he and I met when he moved on to the Royal College of Art in the early 1970s. We married in 1976. Those years were full of idealism and chaos; we lived together in a squat in Brixton, arguing politics and sharing a love of experimental film.

Phil began his career in live action with a portrait, Fragments of a Biography (1980), about the painter Mark Gertler, which was co-written with Antony Sher, who also starred in it. His next film, Give Us This Day (1983), about Robert Tressell, author of The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists, won a Grierson award.

However, Phil gradually began to feel constrained by the compromises involved in making long-form drama, and so he moved into animation in the late 80s, working alone with brush and ink, a simple approach that gave him freedom to express himself.

Eventually his Christies series, started in 2006, marked a shift in working practice to low-fi digital image creation and computer-generated voices. The Christies won the Mercury Filmworks prize at the Ottawa International Animation festival, as did two others that followed, Goodbye Mister Christie (2008) and Dead But Not Buried (2010). Phil’s 2015 short Endgame won the Grand Prix at Animafest Zagreb, where he was honoured with a lifetime achievement award in 2024.

Phil was once asked at the London animation festival what it felt like to be called the enfant terrible of British animation. He responded: “To be called anything is actually quite nice. Recently, I was called ‘brilliant’ and ‘rubbish’ for the same film … perfect.” Phil loved to provoke thought and inflame debate. He never stopped working and made more than 60 films in all. He also mentored young animators and taught masterclasses and continued to sketch out ideas to the very end.

He brought the same care and love to his family as he did to his film work. He is survived by me, our children, Lucy and Daniel, and our grandchildren, Layla and Julian.

MULLOY, Phil (Philip Mulloy)

Born: 8/29/1948, Wallasey, Cheshire, England. U.K.

Died: 8/10/2025, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, U.K.

 

Phil Mulloy’s westerns – director:

Cowboys: The Conformist – 1991

Cowboys: High Noon - 1991

Cowboys: Murder! – 1991

Cowboys: Outraged! - 1991

Cowboys: That’s Nothin’ – 1991

Cowboys: Slim Pickens – 1992

RIP Eusebio Poncela

 

Beloved film legend dies aged 79 after decades on stage and screen as tributes flood in

The acclaimed screen star, who helped launch Antonio Banderas's rise to fame, has passed away at 79 after a decades-long career

Express

By Frankie Collins

August 27, 2025

 

Actor Eusebio Poncela, who starred opposite Antonio Banderas in Pedro Almodóvar’s Law of Desire, has died at the age of 79. The Spanish Film Academy confirmed his death on Wednesday (August 27), hailing the Madrid-born performer as one of the most influential figures in Spanish cinema. Poncela enjoyed a career spanning theatre, television, and film, with some of his most celebrated work in the 1980s alongside Almodóvar and rising star Banderas. No cause of death was revealed.

Away from the screen, Poncela was candid about his battles with heroin addiction. He admitted to losing friends to the drug and once relocated to Ushuaia, Argentina, in order to get clean. Reflecting on the prejudices he faced, he said in an interview with ABC: “More than once I’ve been pigeonholed by prejudice: for being poor, for being gay, for being a drug addict, and now for being old. And, above all, it seems that I’m not forgiven for always doing whatever I want and going it alone.”

Tributes have poured in for the acclaimed star online, with one fan taking to X - formerly known as Twitter - to share: "Eusebio Poncela leaves us, one of the great names in cinema, theater, and television in Spain. An actor and director with a career marked by elegance and intensity."

Another penned: "It cannot be denied of Eusebio Poncela that he lived as he wanted, that he always did whatever he felt like, that he did not bow to the demands of anyone except those of his vocation, that he lived life fully, not only in its sweetest and easiest moments, but also in the most."

The outspoken actor's refusal to conform to stereotypes made him a figure known for pushing boundaries. He brought disturbing, often unsettling nuances to his roles, a style that set him apart in Spanish cinema of the time.

His breakthrough came with Eloy de la Iglesia’s The Week of the Murderer (1972), but it was Iván Zulueta’s cult classic Arrebato (Rapture) in 1979 that cemented his reputation. Its mix of addiction, obsession, and avant-garde style is now seen as a cornerstone of modern Spanish film.

Poncela’s association with Almodóvar followed soon after. He appeared in Matador (1986) before playing filmmaker Pablo Quintero in Law of Desire (1987), opposite Banderas as the dangerously obsessed Antonio Benítez.

His popularity soared in the 1980s thanks to television, especially as Carlos Deza in The Joys and the Shadows (1982). In 2001, he starred in Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s thriller Intacto alongside Max von Sydow, earning his only Goya nomination.

Later projects included horror films Black Prickly Pear (2001) and The Valdemar Legacy (2010). Though cinema made him a household name, Poncela remained deeply rooted in theatre.

He starred in Macbeth (2004), an acclaimed trilogy of Oedipus (2009), and The Servant (2019). His final performance was in Kiss of the Spider Woman, which toured Spain before closing in Barcelona in 2023.

Born in Vallecas in 1945 and trained in drama, Poncela was remembered as a daring, uncompromising actor who left an indelible mark on European film.

PONCELA, Eusebio (Eusebio Poncela Aprea)

Born: 9/15/1945, Vallecas, Madrid, Spain

Died: 8/27/2025, El Escorial, Madrid, Spain

 

Eudebio Poncela’s western – actor:

800 Bullets – 2002 (Scott)

RIP Frank Price

 

Frank Price Dies: Former Head Of Columbia Pictures & Universal TV Was 95

DEADLINE

By Erik Pedersen

August 25, 2025

 

Frank Price, a writer and Emmy-nominated producer who rose to chairman and CEO of Columbia Pictures before becoming head of Universal Television, died Monday. He was 95. His son, former Amazon Studios president Roy Price, said his father died in his sleep.

Born on May 17, 1930, in Decatur, IL, the elder Price was a TV writer-producer during the heyday of Westerns, including serving in producer roles for more 100 episodes of The Virginians and 75 of Pat Garrett-Billy the Kid series The Tall Man. He later was an executive producer on the hit dramas Ironside and It Takes a Thief, starring Raymond Burr and Robert Wagner, respectively.

He brought in a young Steven Bochco to pad out the first six episodes of Ironside before they aired on NBC. In an interview for The Television Academy Foundation, Bochco said he watched those and recalled that Price came into the room and asked what he thought about the show. “Smartass that I was, I said, ‘I can certainly do this, but I don’t know if you want to do it for all six of them because I don’t know if this show is gonna last that long.’ Frank gave me that sort of very frosty look. Anyway, I wound up doing that show, but I got off on the wrong foot there with Frank.”

In the late 1970s, Price pivoted to features, rising to president and later chairman and CEO of Columbia Pictures. While there, he demonstrated a remarkable eye for both commercial and artistic success, shepherding such hits as Tootsie, Ghostbusters and The Karate Kid and backing Best Picture Oscar winners, Gandhi, Out of Africa and Kramer vs. Kramer. He later greenlighted Boyz n the Hood, John Singleton’s searing look at inner-city Los Angeles that fueled the careers of its filmmaker and cast including Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut and Cuba Gooding Jr.

After moving to Universal Pictures, Price launched Steven Spielberg’s lucrative Back to the Future franchise. While head of Universal TV, Price scored an Emmy nom for the 1995 HBO TV movie The Tuskegee Airmen, which starred Boyz n the Hood alums Laurence Fishburne and Gooding.

Price also founded Price Entertainment, a production company that made such films as Shadowlands and A Bronx Tale.

His son said Price’s life was a masterpiece of its own — a story of vision, heart and connection that will continue to inspire for generations to come. The family remembers him as a warm, guiding presence whose love for storytelling was matched only by his love for them. Ray Price said his dad was particularly proud of his involvement with USC; he served as a trustee and created and chaired the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts Board of Councilors from 1992-2021.

Along with son Ray, Frank is survived by his wife, Katherine; his sons, David and William, who is married to Megan; and his 14 grandchildren.

PRICE, Frank (William Francis Price)

Born: 5/17/1930, Decatur, Illinois, U.S.A.

Died: 8/25/2025, Santa Monica, California, U.S.A.

 

Frank Price’s westerns – producer, writer:

Rough Riders (TV) - 1958 [writer]

Overland Trail (TV) - 1960 [producer]

Shotgun Slade (TV) – 1960 [writer]

The Tall Men (TV) – 1960, 1961, 1962 [writer, producer]

Frontier Circus (TV) – 1961, 1962 [writer]

Tales of Wells Fargo (TV) – 1962 [writer]

The Virginian (TV) – 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967 [producer, writer]

The Final Hour – 1965 [producer]

Alias Smith and Jones (TV) - 1971 [producer]

Texas Rangers – 2001 [producer]

 

RIP John Barnett

 

Legendary New Zealand film and television producer John Barnett has died 

Radio New Zealand

August 25, 2025

 

 

Legendary New Zealand film and television producer John Barnett has died.

The Screen Production and Development Association confirmed Barnett died on Sunday night.

He began his career in 1973 and ran the country's largest production company, South Pacific Pictures, from 1992 to 2015.

Barnett's current company, Endeavour Ventures, develops feature films and international TV series.

He was a producer or executive producer on four of the country's 10 top grossing films: Footrot Flats, Whale Rider, Sione's Wedding, and Once Were Warriors sequel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?

Barnett was made companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to film and television in 2019.

He said over his career, Whale Rider was one of his greatest achievements.

The film won a BAFTA Award, Oscar nominations for actor Keisha Castle-Hughes, and made over $50 million internationally.

Alongside his internationally acclaimed films, Barnett championed projects that introduced New Zealand's Māori, Pacific and Asian populations, as well as establishing Sundance Channel (now Rialto), the first art house film station.

BARNETT, John

Born: 8/17/1945, Auckland, New Zealanf

Died: 8/24/2025,

 

John Barnett’s western – producer:

Wild Man - 1977

RIP Forrest Lucas

 

Forrest Lucas, self-made entrepreneur and longtime NHRA partner, passes away

Forrest Lucas, the self-made entrepreneur who turned a small startup into the global brand Lucas Oil and became one of NHRA Drag Racing’s most influential benefactors, passed away Aug. 23. He was 83.

NHRA

By Phil Burgess

August 23, 2025

 

Forrest Lucas, the self-made entrepreneur who turned a small startup into the global brand Lucas Oil and became one of NHRA Drag Racing’s most influential benefactors, passed away Aug. 23. He was 83.

Born in 1942 in rural Indiana, Lucas rose from modest beginnings to build a career as a long-haul truck driver before founding Lucas Oil Products in 1989 with his wife Charlotte. The company grew rapidly with a line of high-performance oils and additives that became a staple in trucking, motorsports, and everyday automotive use.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of our founder, Forrest Lucas," said the company in a statement. "Forrest's boundless drive for Lucas Oil, his generosity and love for his family, friends, and community defined his life. While we grieve this tremendous loss, we take comfort in knowing his legacy will continue to inspire our team and all who knew him."

Lucas’ passion for motorsports was central to his life and business. He forged one of the longest and most impactful sponsorship partnerships in drag racing history. For more than two decades, Lucas Oil has served as the title sponsor of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, supporting thousands of grassroots racers and sportsman competitors. The brand also became the Official Oil of the NHRA, lent its name to the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., and the season-opening Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., and secured naming rights to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, home of the NHRA U.S. Nationals.

Beyond event sponsorship, Lucas directly supported championship teams and drivers, from his first sponsorship, of Pro Stock Motorcycle standout Hector Arana Sr. and later his son, Hector Jr., to all-time NHRA winner John Force and multi-time Top Alcohol Funny Car world champion Frank Manzo to drag racing icon Chris Karamesines, to whom Lucas graciously bestowed a lifetime sponsorship in the later years of his racing career. The list of racers who benefited from Lucas’ largesse is long and varied.

In August 2024, Lucas was honored with the NHRA Lifetime Achievement Award for his unparalleled contributions to the sport.

Lucas gradually stepped back from day-to-day operations in later years, with his son, former NHRA Top Fuel and Top Alcohol Dragster driver Morgan Lucas, assuming the role of president of Lucas Oil Products. Under Morgan’s leadership, the company has continued to expand its presence in motorsports and consumer markets while maintaining the family’s emphasis on grassroots racing.

Known for his philanthropy as much as his sponsorships, Lucas and his family supported numerous charities and community projects through the Lucas Oil brand and the Lucas Oil Estate in Missouri.

“Forrest Lucas was more than a businessman; he was a visionary who believed in motorsports from the grassroots up,” said NHRA President Glen Cromwell upon Lucas receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. “The NHRA and countless racers are better because of his passion and generosity.”

LUCAS, Forrest

Born: 2/1/1942, Ramsey, Indiana, U.S.A.

Died: 8/23/2025, Carmel, Indiana, U.S.A.

 

Forrest Lucas’ western – producer: 

Running Wild - 2017

RIP John S. Bartley

 

In Memoriam — John S. Bartley, ASC, CSC (1947-2025)

The cinematographer earned acclaim for his bold approaches to such landmark series as The X-Files and Lost.

American Cinematographer

By Rachael Bosley

August 19, 2025

 

John S. Bartley, ASC, CSC, who died Aug. 17 in Los Angeles at the age of 78, didn’t see television until he was a teenager, but his career exemplified how visually expressive the medium could be. He established one of the darkest palettes on the air with his bold approach to the first three seasons of The X-Files, and he rendered mysteries of a different sort in a more colorful clime on Lost, serving as one of its directors of photography for six seasons. Both series became international sensations.

Bartley received three ASC Award nominations and two Primetime Emmy nominations for his work on The X-Files, winning the Emmy in 1996 for the episode “Grotesque.” He received additional Emmy nominations for episodes of Lost (“The Constant”) and Bates Motel (“A Danger to Himself and Others”).

Bartley was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on Feb. 12, 1947, to a career Army officer and a theater cashier. When his father died suddenly at age 53, 12-year-old John and his brother joined their mother at work, huddling in the ticket booth until her shift ended. The boys were often allowed to watch whatever was onstage, and musicals were a favorite. Short-wave radio provided glimpses of the world beyond Wellington. When broadcast television arrived in the city in 1960, one channel was offered. “It was movies that fascinated me,” Bartley told AC. “Cinerama was big at the time, and we took school trips to the theater.”

After high school, he apprenticed with an electrician, and at age 20, he moved to Sydney, Australia, and found work as a lighting director in theater and television. “I was really lucky,” he recalled in 2011. “I didn’t know anything about television, but two lighting technicians at the station taught me what I needed to know. Television was black-and-white in those days, and I learned how to use light to accentuate black-and-white tones … to help tell stories on television screens.” Moving to Canada two years later, he landed a job at rental house William F. White International, Inc., and started connecting with filmmakers. By 1976, he’d started freelancing as a gaffer in Vancouver. “I worked on everything from commercials to TV programs and movies with Sven Nykvist [ASC], Hiro Narita [ASC], Tak Fujimoto [ASC], Frank Tidy [BSC] and Bob Stevens [ASC],” he said. “There is no school like that.” By 1986, he was shooting commercials and music videos, and he made his feature-cinematography debut a few years later on the independent film Beyond the Stars.

As L.A. television production migrated north, Bartley became busy with MOWs and series, shooting episodes of Wiseguy and 21 Jump Street and two full seasons of The Commish, among other projects.

Then producer Robert Goodwin invited him to interview for The X-Files, and for the next three years, he was very busy indeed. “We like it dark, moody, mysterious and sometimes claustrophobic,” series creator Chris Carter told AC in 1995. Bartley noted wryly that in the show’s early days, “we didn’t have any money, and that had a lot to do with the look. Most of our sets weren’t finished; if you looked down the end of a hallway, there was nothing there, or there might be the sets of some other production, so we’d put something down there like a bright light or an object that couldn’t be identified.”

Bartley subsequently garnered acclaim for his work on multiple seasons of Lost, a thriller about plane-crash survivors stranded in the tropics, and Bates Motel, a psychological drama that imagines a backstory for Psycho’s Norman Bates. His credits also included full seasons of Roswell and Wu Assassins; the MOWs Hostage Rescue Team (directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, ASC) and The Matthew Shepard Story; the feature Eight Legged Freaks; episodes of Vikings and Walker: Independence; and 2nd-unit cinematography on The Chronicles of Riddick and The X-Files: I Want to Believe.

Bartley became an ASC member in 1997 after being proposed by Robert Primes, Michael Watkins and Robert Stevens.

“The best advice I can give anyone is that there is nothing easy about working in this industry,” he said. “You have to love it, because it is tough on family life when you are working 70 to 80 hours a week. Not everyone can do it.”

BARTLEY, John S. (John Stanley Bartley)

Born: 2/12/1947, Wellington, New Zealand

Died: 8/17/2025, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

 

John Bartley’s westerns – cinematographer:

The Grey Fox – 1982

Walker: Independence (TV) – 2022

Then Came Jones (TV) - 2023

RIP Joe Caroff

 Joe Caroff, designer of James Bond 007 logo and countless iconic film posters, dies aged 103

The artist, whose work can be also seen in posters from West Side Story to Cabaret, Manhattan and A Hard Day’s Night, worked on more than 300 campaigns, often uncredited

The graphic designer responsible for the 007 gun logo as well as countless classic film posters has died, aged 103.

Joe Caroff, whose work can be seen on the posters for films including West Side Story, A Hard Day’s Night, Last Tango in Paris, Cabaret, Manhattan and The Last Temptation of Christ, died on Sunday.

His sons, Peter and Michael Caroff, told the New York Times he been under hospice care at his home in Manhattan, one day short of his 104th birthday.

Caroff worked on more than 300 campaigns during his career, but his first two commissions turned out to be among his most enduring – and lucrative.

First, United Artists executive David Chasman hired him to design the poster for West Side Story (1961). The better to suggest rough brickwork, Caroff scuffed the lettering, then added fire escapes and perching balletic dancers.

Adapting the font to suit the material became a trademark. Other key examples include his poster for Manhattan (1979), one of more than a dozen collaborations with Woody Allen. In that image, Caroff assembled silhouettes of recognisable New York skyscrapers, including the Empire State Building, Chrysler building and the twin towers to spell out the word “Manhattan”.

The second task assigned to Caroff by Chasman was to design a letterhead for the publicity release for the first Bond film, Dr No, in 1962.

“He said, ‘I need a little decorative thing on top,’” Caroff recalled in 2021. “I knew [Bond’s] designation was 007, and when I wrote the stem of the seven, I thought, ‘That looks like the handle of a gun to me.’ It was very spontaneous, no effort, it was an instant piece of creativity.

Taking inspiration from Ian Fleming’s favorite gun, a Walther PPK, Caroff extended the image with a barrel and trigger and was paid $300 – a fee never increased by any residuals or royalties.

As with much of his work, the logo was also uncredited, and Caroff never recei

ved the public acclaim or name recognition of his close contemporary, Saul Bass.

Other key posters included Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965), as well as Last Tango in Paris (1972), Rollerball (1975), An Unmarried Woman (1978) and Gandhi (1982).

As well as working on graphics and posters, Caroff created a number of opening title sequences, including those for Richard Attenborough’s A Bridge Too Far (1977), Volker Schlöndorff’s Death of a Salesman (1985), and Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ (1988).

He sought above all else “effervescence” in his work, he said in the 2022 TCM documentary By Design: The Joe Caroff Story. “I want it to have a life, it doesn’t want to lie there flat.”

 

CAROFF, Joe (Joseph Caroff)

Born: 8/18/1921, Roselle, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Died: 8/17/2025, Manhattan, New York, U.S.A.

 

Joe Caroff’s westerns – poster art:

A Fistful of Dollars – 1964

For a Few Dollars More - 1965

RIP Terence Stamp

 

Actor Terence Stamp, who starred as Superman villain, dies aged 87

BBC

By Jessica Rawnsley

August 17, 2025

 

Terence Stamp, the English actor who played the arch-villain General Zod in Superman films, has died at the age of 87.

In a career that spanned six decades, the Oscar-nominated actor starred in films including The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Far From the Madding Crowd and Valkyrie.

Stamp died on Sunday morning, his family said in a statement to Reuters news agency.

"He leaves behind an extraordinary body of work, both as an actor and a writer that will continue to touch people for years to come," they said.

Born in Stepney, east London, to working-class parents on 22 July 1938, Stamp attended grammar school before pursuing a career in advertising.

After securing a scholarship to go to drama school, he shot to fame in the 1960s, making his debut playing the titular role in Billy Budd, a 1962 film about a naive young seaman in the 18th century.

His performance earned him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor and a Golden Globe for best newcomer.

He went on to make a name for himself as a villain, with stand-out performances in Superman and Superman II as General Zod, Freddie Clegg in The Collector, and Sergeant Troy in Far From the Madding Crowd.

During his heyday in the 1960s, Stamp was known for his good looks, fashion sense and high-profile girlfriends, including actress Julie Christie - who he later starred alongside in Far From the Madding Crowd - and supermodel Jean Shrimpton.

His relationship with Christie only lasted a year but was immortalized by the Kinks in the song Waterloo Sunset with the line "Terry meets Julie".

Stamp was approached to replace Sean Connery when he relinquished his role as James Bond, but said his radical ideas about how he could interpret the character put off producer Harry Saltzman.

"I think my ideas about it put the frighteners on Harry," he said. "I didn't get a second call from him."

He spent some time in Italy, working with directors Pier Paolo Pasolini and Federico Fellini, but found his star had faded when he returned to London at the end of the 1960s.

"When the 1960s ended, I just ended with it," he later said.

He moved away from acting for a while, buying a round-the-world ticket and ending up in India where he studied yoga and spent time living in a spiritual retreat - before being offered his most high-profile role, as General Zod in Superman, in 1976.

Returning to the silver screen, the following decades saw dozens of appearances in films including Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, A Song for Marion, The Adjustment Bureau and Last Night in Soho.

One of his most celebrated and notable performances came in 1994 when he played a transgender woman in the Australian film, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Stamp was due to appear in a sequel to Priscilla, director Stephan Elliott confirmed last year.

STAMP, Terence

Born: 7/22/1938, Stepney, London, England, U.K.

Died: 8/17/2025,

 

Terecne Stamp’s westerns – actor:

Blue – 1968 (Blue)

Fade In – 1973

Young Guns – 1988 (John Tunstall)

September Dawn – 2007 (Brigham Young)