RIP Don Schlitz

 

NC Native Don Schlitz, storied country songwriter behind such hits as ‘The Gambler,’ dies at 73

WPTF

By Maria Sherman

April 17, 2026

 

Don Schlitz, the storied country music songwriter known for such hits as “The Gambler,” “On the Other Hand” and “Forever and Ever, Amen,” died Thursday at a Nashville hospital. He was 73.

The cause of death was not immediately known. A press release from the Grand Ole Opry described it as a sudden illness.

Schlitz, a North Carolina native, was born in 1952 and raised in Durham before packing his bags and heading to Nashville

The two-time Grammy Award winner was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame. “I will never be able to believe that I deserve this, unless I receive it as a representative of my family, my mentors, my collaborators, my promoters and my friends,” Schlitz said in 2017, when he learned of the Country Music Hall of Fame honor. “That’s the only way I can deal with this.”

Schlitz made his Grand Ole Opry debut in 2017 and was later inducted in 2022. He is the only non-artist to receive the honor in the Opry’s 100 years. The historic venue’s Saturday night show will be dedicated in his honor.

He was named ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year for four consecutive years, from 1988 through 1991. He also wrote music and lyrics for “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” the 1999 Broadway musical.

Schlitz’s songs are widely considered some of the most unwavering in country music, and have been recorded by such hitmakers as Kenny Rogers (“The Gambler,” “The Greatest”), Randy Travis (“On the Other Hand,” “Forever and Ever, Amen”), The Judds (“I Know Where I’m Going”), The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (“I Love Only You,”) Tanya Tucker (“I Won’t Take Less Than Your Love,”) Mary Chapin Carpenter (“He Thinks He’ll Keep Her”) and many others.

He also wrote “You Can’t Make Old Friends” for Rogers and Dolly Parton; their first duet since 1983’s “Islands in the Stream.”

His first recorded song, “The Gambler,” is perhaps his most enduring hit and the tent-pole of his legacy. The song, which was recorded by Rogers in 1978 and certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), opened doors for country music in the ’70s, a track that was not only a huge genre hit but also a pop crossover one.

As Rogers said when he inducted Schlitz into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012, “Don doesn’t just write songs. He writes careers.”

“We are heartbroken by the news of the passing of Don Schlitz. Don loved his family, his home state of North Carolina, and above all, songs and songwriters. He carried that love into every room, every stage and every lyric he ever wrote,” Sarah Trahern, Country Music Association CEO, wrote in a statement Friday. “Not long ago, we shared a dinner, and as we were leaving, Don picked up a guitar and began to play. That is how I will always remember him, smiling and with a guitar in his hand. His legacy lives on through his music and the many artists and writers he inspired. He will be deeply missed.”

“Don Schlitz’s place as a songwriting great would be secure had he never written ‘The Gambler’ or had he only written ‘The Gambler,’” Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, wrote in a statement Friday. “Nashville was richer for his presence and is lesser for his absence.”

Schlitz is survived by his wife Stacey, daughter Cory Dixon and her husband Matt Dixon, son Pete Schlitz and his wife Christian Webb Schlitz, grandchildren Roman, Gia, Isla and Lilah, brother Brad Schlitz and sister Kathy Hinkley.

SCHLITZ, Don (Donald Alan Schlitz Jr.)

Born: 8/29/1952, Durham, North Carolina, U.S.A.

Died: 4/16/2026, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A.

 

Don Schlitz’s westerns – writer:

The Gambler (TV) 1980

Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues (TV) – 1983

The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (TV) – 1991

Gambler V: Playing for Keeps (TV) - 1994

RIP Alexander Morton

 

Monarch of the Glen actor Alexander Morton dies aged 81

BBC

By Craig Williams

4/16/2026

 

Actor Alexander "Sandy" Morton, who played Golly Mackenzie in the TV series Monarch of the Glen, has died aged 81.

The Glasgow-born actor played the loyal ghillie of the fictional Highland estate Glenbogle in all 64 episodes of the popular BBC Scotland series between 2000 and 2005.

He was also known for playing hard-men and villains in films and series as diverse as Get Carter, The Silent Scream, Valhalla Rising, and Take the High Road.

Morton, who trained at the prestigious Central School of Speech and Drama in London, was also a noted stage actor who founded the Raindog Theatre Company with fellow actors Robert Carlyle and Caroline Paterson.

Morton began working in the 1970s in London and Scotland and he built a long and varied career on stage and screen.

He made an impact as the villain Andy Semple in the Scottish Television soap opera Take The High Road, a part he played for 14 years between 1980 and 1994.

His stage roles included Macbeth, Robert Burns and William Wallace.

He also appeared in River City and Shetland.

Louise Thornton, head of commissioning at BBC Scotland, said: "We're saddened to hear the news about Alexander Morton who made a significant contribution to Scottish television and theatre.

"His portrayal of Golly Mackenzie in Monarch of the Glen was a key part of the long-running drama's success.

"He will be remembered fondly for the depth and authenticity he brought to one of BBC Scotland's most cherished dramas."

Paying tribute to Morton on social media, Robert Carlyle wrote:

"So sad to hear of the passing of the great Sandy Morton. Not only a brilliant actor, but one of the kindest men I ever knew. Working with him through the years with Raindog Theatre Company was an education.

"His unique, naturalistic style was a thing of beauty. So real that you would forget he was even acting at all. I've never seen anyone do it better than Sandy.

"He taught me so much. I owe him so much, and he will forever be in my heart. RIP Alexander Morton."

'Exceptional talent'

Gavin Mitchell, who plays Boaby the barman in Still Game, said: "Such devastating news to hear of the passing of Sandy Morton today from his son Jamie.

"He taught and gave me so much. Warm, wise, encouraging, generous and gentle. An exceptional talent. I was lucky enough to work with him on various things over the years, from the inception of Raindog Theatre Company and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, panto, radio, Monarch of the Glen, of course, and much more.

"His door was always open and always tales to share. He loved music, history, politics, radio, and remained eternally curious.

"I loved him dearly and I owe him a lot. I'll miss our chats and I'll miss catching him off guard and making him chortle. We've lost one of the best. All my love. Travel well Sandy".

Actor and singer Tom Urie, who played Big Bob O'Hara in River City, wrote: "Sad to hear about the passing of Sandy Morton. Our paths crossed briefly on River City and he was an absolute gentleman."

MORTON, Alexander

Born: 3/24/1945, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.

Died: 4/15/2026, Bath Somerset, England, U.K.

 

Alexander Morton’s western – actor:

The Campbells (TV) – 1987, 1988 (cellmate, Thomas)

RIP Husein Cokic

 

Husein Čokić passed away: He started his career in Banja Luka, starred in the film "March on the Drina"

Nezavisne

By Ratko Bogosavac

4/16/2026

 

It started at the Banja Luka Theatre

Čokić was born in 1931 in Ključ, and spent his working life in Banja Luka.

According to the regionalexpress.hr portal, which published the news of his death, Čokić began his acting career in 1953 at the National Theater of Bosanska Krajina in Banja Luka, where he performed a whole range of roles.

What he's been playing

He gained full recognition as an actor in film, collaborating with leading ex-Yugoslav directors, such as Branko Bauer in the film “Face to Face”, “Steps Through the Fog” and “Cat Under the Helmet” by Žorž Skrigin, “March on the Drina” by Žika Mitrović, “Horse on the Mountain” by Fadil Hadžić, “Doctor Mladen” by Midhat Mutapčić, “Saboteurs” and “Valter Defends Sarajevo” by Hajrudin Šiba Krvavac, “Shepherd” by Bakir Tanović, “The Ninth Miracle in the East” by Vlatko Filipović and “Ljubica” by Krešo Golik.

He has also successfully appeared in numerous co-production films and TV series, as well as in drama productions of Sarajevo Television.

He has made a total of 28 feature films and about twenty TV films, TV series, short films and television dramas.

He also starred in a foreign film

Together with Bekim Fehmiu, he paved the way for ex-Yugoslav actors in foreign films. Among other things, he starred in the classic "Vineta" (1963).

The monodrama "Socrates' Defense and Death", which he performed extremely successfully at a time when Ljuba Tadić played the same monodrama on stage, will remain inscribed and remembered in the golden letters of the theatre.

COKIC, Husein

Born: 6/16/1931, Kljuc, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia

Died: 4/14/2026, Pula, Croatia

 

Husein Cokic’s westerns – actor:

Apache Gold – 1963 (Will Parker)

The Jack London Story (TV) – 1973 (Jim Goodman/Gustavson) [as Husein Cokie]

RIP Lucha Moreno

 

Lucha Moreno, actress and diva of ranchera music, dies at the age of 86

"He left us soft and surrounded by a lot of love," says his daughter Mimí, a member of the group Flans.

Billboard

By Natalia Cano

4/16/2026

 

Singer and actress Lucha Moreno, one of the great voices of ranchera music who was part of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, died on Wednesday (April 15) at the age of 86. The death was confirmed by her daughter Irma Hernández, better known as Mimí of the group Flans.

"How difficult... Today my adored mommy climbed on a cloud surrounded by a lot of little angels to return home ... She left us soft and surrounded by a lot of love," Mimí said in a post on her Instagram account, accompanied by a photograph with her mother. "Warrior, tireless, noisy, big and with the purest heart. Have a good trip beautiful mommy. We are going to miss you very much... Fly happy!"

The cause of death of the Mexican diva was not revealed. Billboard Español has sent requests for details to Mimí and her representatives.

Irma Gloria Ochoa Salinas, Moreno's real name, was born on April 23, 1939 in Guadalupe, Nuevo León. Marked by interpretive intensity and roots in traditions, her artistic work included music and television, in addition to being part of the last stage of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, standing out for her vocal interpretation and stage presence.

In the 1960s, she formed a successful duo with her husband, José Juan, with whom she also formed a family. The duo managed to become one of the most important vernacular music of the time, recording a score of albums under the Orfeón and RCA Victor labels. Among her hits are songs such as "Tú y yo", "Deja deja" and "La Margarita". Her most famous albums, which positioned her as one of the most powerful voices in traditional Mexican music, include Tú y Yo (1970), Lucha Moreno Y José Juan Con El Mariachi Monumental De Silvestre Vargas – Amor Perfecto (1970) and Serenata De Amor Con Lucha Moreno Y José Juan (1976).

In cinema, Moreno made her debut in 1957 in the film Asesinos, S.A. (1957) — written and directed by Adolfo Fernández Bustamante and starring Adalberto Martínez Resortes, Kitty de Hoyos and Sara Guasch – in which she performed the song "La noche de mi mal." On TV, she participated in soap operas that marked an era, such as Quinceañera, Amor en Silencio, Amor de Nadie, Acapulco, Cuerpo y Alma and Te Sigo Amando.

In addition to Mimí, Moreno had two other children: Ileana, who died a few years ago, and José Juan Hernández Ochoa, who also ventured into music and now works as a businessman. Her husband, José Juan, died in January 2025, at the age of 89, after almost six decades of marriage.

MORENO, Lucha (Irma Gloria Ochoa Salinas)

Born: 4/23/1939, Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon, Mexico

Died: 4/5/2026, Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico

 

Lucha Moreno’s westerns – actress:

No soy monedita de oro – 1959 (Lucha Moreno)

El gato – 1961 (María)

Tirando a matar – 1961 (María)

Los hijos del diablo – 1989 (Leonor Contreras

RIP Joy Harmon

 

Joy Harmon

'Cool Hand Luke' Car Wash Scene Actress Dead at 87

TMZ

April 15, 2026

 

Joy Harmon -- the blonde actress known for her brief but iconic car wash scene in the classic 1960s film "Cool Hand Luke" -- has died, TMZ has learned.

A family member tells TMZ ... Joy passed away at her Los Angeles-area home Tuesday surrounded by family, after getting sick with pneumonia several weeks earlier. We're told she fought until the end and fully expected to recover and get back to work at her beloved Burbank bakery, Aunt Joy's Cakes.

Joy was working at Aunt Joy's until the very end ... we're told she was working the day before she went to the hospital to receive medical care.

According to her family member, she spent 1 to 2 weeks in the hospital, followed by a several-week stint at a rehabilitation center, and then returned home to spend her final days on hospice care and with her loved ones.

Her role as Lucille in the famous car-wash scene was an image that stuck in cinema culture for decades to come. But she had been honing her craft long before -- she kicked off her career as a child model and pageant queen, becoming a finalist in the Miss Connecticut pageant.

She had several on and off-Broadway stints before breaking into Hollywood as a contestant on the "You Bet Your Life" quiz show. From there, she became a regular on the "Tell It To Groucho" comedy show.

She appeared in classic films such as "Village of the Giants," "One Way Wahine," "Under the Yum Yum Tree" and "Angel in My Pocket" and landed several roles on the small screen, appearing in "Batman," "The Monkeys," "Bewitched," and more.

She stepped away from Hollywood to focus on raising her family -- she had 3 children, Jason, Julie and Jamie -- with her ex-husband, film editor Jeff Gourson. The pair were married between 1968 and 2001. She had 9 grandchildren, some of whom she's seen smiling with in the photo above.

She founded her bakery in 2003, and it quickly became a local favorite. We're told fans always knew to find her there, and she would happily hand out autographs when asked.

Her family tells TMZ Joy was a positive thinker full of life and vibrancy and certainly had no problem spreading joy throughout her life.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help with her medical costs.

Joy was 87 years old.

RIP

 

HARMON, Joy (Joy Patricia Harmon)

Born: 5/1/1940, Flushing, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 4/14/2026, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

 

Joy Harmon’s western – actress:

The Rounders (TV) - 1966 (Rosetta)

RIP Tony Williams

 

Tony Williams, professor of film studies, dead at 80

Wellesnet

April 13, 2026

 

Sad to learn tonight that Tony Williams, a longtime Wellesnet supporter and contributor, has passed away after a brief illness. He was 80.

News of his passing was shared by friends on social media, one of whom described him as “outspoken and brilliant in a way few are—an academic who wasn’t concerned with the etiquette or appearance that so many of his peers were.”

Tony was a professor of English and Area Head of Film Studies at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

He was among the first members of the Wellesnet community when the website was launched in March 2001 and contributed more than 1,000 posts to the Message Board. He was unfailingly loyal to the site and penned several articles. In recent years, he wrote an analysis of The Trial and a review of Dany Wu’s documentary American: An Odyssey to 1947.

Educated at Manchester and Warwick Universities, Tony authored and/or co-authored  Italian Western: The Opera of Violence (1975); Jack London: The Movies (1992); Vietnam War Films (1994/2011); Hearths of Darkness: The Family in the American Horror Film (1996); Larry Cohen: The Radical Allegories of an American Filmmaker (1997); Jack London’s The Sea Wolf: A Screenplay by Robert Rossen (1998); The Cinema of George A. Romero: Knight of the Living Dead (2003); Body and Soul: The Cinematic Vision of Robert Aldrich (2004); John Woo’s Bullet in the Head (2009); and James Jones: The Limits of Eternity (2016).).

His articles also appeared in Asian Cinema, cineACTION, Cinema Journal, Excavatio, Film Criticism, Film History, Journal of Chinese Cinemas,Movie, Postscript, Vietnam Generatio.

Tony is survived by his wife and a daughter.

 

WILLIAMS, Tony (Anthony J. Williams)

Born: 1/11/1946, Swansea, Wales, U.K.

Died: 4/14/2026, Carbondale, Illinois, U.S.A.

 

Tony Williams westerns – author:

Italian Western: The Opera of Violence (1975

RIP Elisabeth Waldo

 

WA-born Elisabeth Waldo dies at 107; fused Indigenous and Western sounds 

The Seattle Times

By Adam Nossiter

April 6, 2026

 

Elisabeth Waldo, a musician and composer who used pre-Columbian instruments in Western-style scores that sought to evoke the atmosphere of Latin America, died March 16 at her home in Northridge, California. She was 107.

Her death was confirmed by her niece, Lucy V. Lee.

Waldo began her musical life in the 1930s at a sharply different end of the spectrum. She was a classically-trained violinist who had been endorsed by the eminent Jascha Heifetz and studied with Russian-born virtuoso Efrem Zimbalist at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

But her travels through Latin America in the 1940s, and especially a stay in Mexico, radically reoriented her sound world. “I just couldn’t sit and play only Bach,” she told the Los Angeles Times in 1994.

Through albums in the late 1950s and ’60s with titles including “Rites of the Pagan,” “Realm of the Incas” and “Maracatu,” Waldo (and an ensemble she created) fused her fascination with bone flutes, conch shell trumpets and Indigenous percussion with her training in Western-influenced harmonies, creating an atmospheric canopy of lush sounds that some likened to the Polynesia-themed easy-listening “exotica” genre that was popular in the ’50s.

Waldo rejected that comparison, contrasting exotica’s commercialism with her devotion to the authentic instruments of Latin America.

“They wanted me to be like them because they were big sellers,” she said of the exotica purveyors, “but I said, ‘No, to me it’s not authentic, it’s very pop-oriented,’” she told musician Gabriel Reyes-Whittaker in an interview included in the 2017 book “The Tide Was Always High: The Music of Latin America in Los Angeles,” a compilation of essays edited by Josh Kun.

She added: “I don’t like the synthesized flutes because I’m so used to the real concert flute or these Aztec flutes that are over a thousand years old — they have such a beauty and I think that’s the best.”

Verdicts from critics were mixed.

“Similar to other exotica albums released at the time, Waldo’s compositions are enjoyable, if rather kitschy fantasies,” Nicholas Limansky wrote in his 2008 biography of Peruvian singer Yma Sumac, with whom Waldo toured as a violinist in the 1950s.

Earlier in Waldo’s career, critics in a less multicultural age were mostly intrigued by her experiments. “There are no visible savages, but their spirits certainly have been reincarnated in one way, at least, into this modern world of 1960,” a critic for the Los Angeles Times wrote that year of Waldo’s efforts.

Three decades later, reactions were sharper. Lewis Segal, also in the Los Angeles Times, wrote in 1989: “Though she led a chamber ensemble bristling with exotic winds and percussion, composer-conductor Elisabeth Waldo inevitably reduced such ‘ethnic’ elements to teasers or dabs of local color in her sweetly melodic evocations of the Spanish conquistadors, Central American Maya, Peruvian Incas, Chinese Silk Route and California Indians.”

He rebuked Waldo for having “celebrated the forced Christianization of Mexico as if this bloody process of enslavement had been merely a matter of gentle padres winning hearts.”

Waldo continued to perform and compose until she was older than 100, largely on the West Coast.

Elisabeth Ann Waldo was born in Tacoma, Washington, on June 18, 1918, the third of four children of Benjamin Franklin Waldo, a telegraph operator for the Northern Pacific Railroad, and Jane Althea (Blodgett) Waldo, who had studied singing at the New England Conservatory of Music.

She grew up southeast of Tacoma on a 40-acre ranch — purchased with her mother’s family money — at the edge of the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington; started playing violin at age 5; studied the instrument at the Cornish School of Music in Seattle; and, as a teenager, played for Heifetz, who was hearing prospective students on behalf of the Curtis Institute.

Waldo was “scared” in the presence of one of the 20th century’s greatest virtuosos, she recalled in a 2023 film about her life, “La Maestra,” by Ted Faye.

He called on her to play the notes being sounded by a pianist. “Heifetz said, ‘Just turn your back to me,’” Waldo recalled. “He didn’t want me to watch the piano.”

She passed the test with flying colors, and Heifetz recommended her for Curtis, from which she graduated in 1938.

She came by her affinity for the music of the Americas when she first toured the region as a violinist with Leopold Stokowski’s All-American Youth Orchestra in 1940. After several seasons playing in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, she returned to Colombia, Panama and Guatemala, playing American music — William Grant Still and George Gershwin — on a solo concert tour sponsored by the governments of those countries.

Conventional orchestra life for her was soon over. “I just couldn’t stay put,” she said in the film. “All these ideas began to combust. I just took off and barnstormed all over Latin America.”

A stay in Mexico City in the mid-1940s, a meeting with painter Diego Rivera and a trip to the city’s main open-air market in search of folk instruments “made me get out of Bach and Brahms,” she said.

“You hear this cacophony of sound, and you become very excited,” she told Faye. The course of her future was set.

WALDO, Elisabeth (Elisabeth Ann Waldo)

Born: 6/18/1918, Tacoma, Washington, U.S.A.

Died: 3/16/2026, Northridge, California, U.S.A.

 

Elisabeth Waldo’s western – additional crew:

The West (TV) – 1996 [additional crew]

RIP Sid Krofft

 

Sid Krofft, Co-Creator of Mind-Blowing Kids TV Shows, Dies at 96

The puppeteer and his late brother Marty partnered on 'The Banana Splits Adventure Hour,' 'H.R. Pufnstuf,' 'Land of the Lost' and much more.

The Hollywood Reporter

By Andy Lewis

April 13, 2026

 

Sid Krofft, the wildly imaginative puppeteer who teamed with his younger brother Marty to build an entertainment empire behind such trippy TV shows as The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, H.R. Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost, has died. He was 96.

Krofft, eight years older than Marty and the creative force of their business, died Friday in his sleep at the Los Angeles home of friend and business partner Kelly Killian. Marty died in November 2023 at age 86. 

“I get a dream, and Marty gets it done,” Sid said of their partnership in a 2000 interview for the TV Academy Foundation.

The pair were well-known theatrical puppeteers in 1968 when they were recruited to design the costumes for the live-action portion of NBC’s The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. Their furry animal characters (Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky), members of a rock band, were an instant hit on the Saturday morning show, which ran from 1968-70 (and in reruns since then).

The next year, NBC asked them to create a Saturday morning kids show, and they came up with H.R. Pufnstuf, about a shipwrecked boy (Jimmy, played by Jack Wild) who lands on a magical island. The title character, Pufnstuf, was a revamp of Luther, a friendly dragon that they had created for a show at the 1968 HemisFair in San Antonio.

NBC wanted a second season to follow the 17-episode first but offered only a small increase on the rights fee, already far below what it was costing the brothers to make the show, so they declined. Pufnstuf was canceled in 1970 but lived on in reruns as well.

Pufnstuf‘s psychedelic sets and costumes were a big hit with college kids, and The Beatles asked for a full set of episode tapes to be sent to them in England. The look of the show prompted many whispers that the brothers took drugs (pot for sure, maybe LSD as well?), something Marty denied.

“You can’t do a show stoned,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in January 2016 during a visit to explore the Krofft archives.

The duo followed Pufnstuf with The Bugaloos (1970-72), the Claymation series Lidsville (1971-73), Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973-75) and Land of the Lost (1974-76), which spawned an ill-fated Will Ferrell movie adaptation in 2009. Those shows were wildly popular in syndication as well.

“We screwed with every kid’s mind,” Marty told THR. “There’s a Krofft look — the colors. There’s an edge. Disney doesn’t have an edge.”

Indeed, the Kroffts‘ style was so popular that McDonald’s copied it to create Mayor McCheese and McDonaldland for an early 1970s advertising campaign. The Kroffts sued, winning a reported seven-figure settlement in 1977.

A year earlier, the brothers opened The World of Sid & Marty Krofft theme park in downtown Atlanta’s new Omni Complex (now CNN’s headquarters). Spread over six levels, it was billed as the world’s first vertical amusement park. About 600,000 visitors came during the recession-plagued ’70s, but it wasn’t enough to cover the costs and interest payments, and the park closed after just six months.

Long after other smaller kids producers like Hanna-Barbera had sold out to conglomerates, the Kroffts were still developing shows as the last of the great 1960s independents. As late as 2015, they had a hit on Nickelodeon with Mutt & Stuff (one episode even featured a guest appearance from Pufnstuf).

The Kroffts also developed numerous live-action variety shows including The Brady Bunch Hour, The Donny & Marie Show, The Bay City Rollers Show and Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters.

They produced another kids show hosted by Richard Pryor, based on his childhood, and their puppets toured with such acts as Judy Garland, Liberace, The Mills Brothers, Tony Martin & Cyd Charisse and Frank Sinatra.

Krofft was born in Montreal on July 30, 1929, and when he was young, he and his family lived in Maine, Rhode Island and the Bronx. For PR, the brothers liked to say that they came from a long line of puppeteers going back many generations. In truth, the story was fabricated. Their father was a clock salesman who emigrated from Greece in the early 1900s.

“The Kroffts have been playing with dolls their whole lives,” Marty joked about the brothers’ boyhood interest in puppeteering. By the time he was 15, Sid was already working clubs in New York.

(They had two other brothers; Hy died during fighting in World War II, and Harry, who died last year, briefly worked for their company before going into real estate.)

At 20, Sid got hired by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and Marty joined his brother full-time in 1958 after an assistant left. They opened Les Poupees de Paris, an adults-only burlesque puppet show that was a huge hit, playing to sold-out crowds at a dinner theater in the San Fernando Valley.

“Les Poupees took us from an act, Sid’s act, to a business,” Marty said. Shirley MacLaine was there on opening night, and Richard Nixon came during his run for president.

Les Poupees took to the road and played the world’s fairs in Seattle in 1962, New York in 1964 and San Antonio in 1968. It featured 240 puppets, mostly topless women, and Time magazine called it a “dirty puppet show.”

After that, it was so popular, “we couldn’t even get our own best friends in the theater,” Sid said. It drew an estimated 9.5 million viewers in its first decade of performances.

All this led to shows at Six Flags amusements parks around the U.S. — they employed more than 100 puppeteers at one point — and appearances on TV, including a regular gig on The Dean Martin Show (they created a chorus line of attractive girl puppets for the variety program before they were replaced by The Golddiggers).

Survivors include his three nieces (Marty’s daughters), Deanna, Kristina and Kendra. Publicist Adam Fenton said Krofft had surgery in November and his recovery proved “difficult and frustrating.”

Until recently, Krofft and Killian interviewed celebrities for their Instagram Live show, Sundays With Sid. At the time of his death, they were finalizing two books about his life and career, one from the perspective of Krofft as a performer, the other from Krofft as a person behind the scenes.

“I loved Sid with my whole heart. He taught me more than I could ever put into words — about the art of Hollywood, the magic of the stage and the depth and complexity of human nature,” she said. “I didn’t know Sid for his shows — I only knew the man who created them. And that man was extraordinary. I wish so very much that I had more time with him. I will miss his big blue eyes, his cheerful smile with his dimples and the warmth that seemed to follow him everywhere he went.”

KROFT, Sid (Cydus Yolas)

Born: 7/30/1920, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Died: 4/10/2026, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

 

Sid Kroft’s westerns – producer:

Harry Tracy: The Last of the Wild Bunch – 1982

RIP Nancy Sheppard

 

Discover Gila County

April 9, 2026

 ·

Today, we pause to remember a true legend of the West… and one of our own.

Nancy Sheppard, a proud cowgirl with deep roots in Gila County, peacefully passed away yesterday at her home in Globe, AZ. We learned of her passing this afternoon, and our hearts are with her family, friends, and all who were touched by her incredible life.

Nancy wasn’t just part of rodeo history—she helped define it. A world-renowned trick rider and roper, she captivated audiences from small-town arenas to Madison Square Garden, becoming the only woman to stand on a running horse while spinning two ropes at once.

But beyond the spotlight, Nancy’s story is deeply woven into the fabric of Gila County. She grew up here, performed at the Payson and Globe Rodeos, and inspired generations of young riders who dreamed of being just like her across the globe.

Over a career that spanned decades, she carried the spirit of the West across the country—and even the world—earning her place in both the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

Nancy Sheppard was more than a performer—she was a culture keeper, a trailblazer, and a proud ambassador of the Western way of life. Her legacy will live on in every rodeo arena, every rope swung, and every young cowgirl who dares to dream.

Rest easy, Nancy. You rode with the best… and you’ll always be one of Gila County’s finest

SHEPPARD, Nancy

Born: 12/29/1929, Ft. Worth, Texas, U.S.A

Died: 4/8/2026, Globe, Arizona, U.S.A.

 

Nancy Sheppard – rodeo performer:

National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame - 1991

Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum 1996

ProRodeo Hall of Fame 2003

RIP Mario Adorf

 

Daily Jang

April 9, 2026

 

Mario Adorf, veteran German actor dies in Paris at 95

The legendary actor was part of several German and Italian films before he passed away at the age of 95

Mario Adorf, a German veteran actor who played iconic villain roles, has passed away at the age of 95.

Born in the Swiss capital, Zurich, in September 1930 to a German mother and an Italian father, Adorf grew up in the hilly rural Eifel region in western Germany.

He studied criminology but dropped out to start acting for the theatre before moving on to film.

Mario Adorf's cause of death

A prominent name in German and Italian cinemas, the actor had recently fallen ill and died after a short illness on April 8, 2026, aged 95, in his home in Paris.

Mario Adorf's acting career

From 1954 to 2023, he appeared in both leading and supporting roles in over 200 film and television productions, ranging from spaghetti westerns to the 1979 Oscar-winning film The Tin Drum.

In 1957, he played a murderer in The Devil Strikes at Night, directed by Robert Siodmak, who had returned from Hollywood.

Discussing his long streak of villanious roles, Adorf said in an interview, "In and of itself, the villain is the interesting role in the book. I don't love the villains as people, as characters, but I know their significance, so I'm happy to lend them my body, my face."

His roles in more recent years included a three-part German TV movie about Winnetou to a mafia film in 2019.

Mario Adorf's marriages

In the 1960s, Adorf married Lis Verhoeven, and the couple had a child, Stella, prior to their divorce. In 1985, he tied the knot with Monique Faye.

ADORF, Mario

Born: 9/8/1930, Zurich, Switzerland

Died:  4/8/2026, Paris, Île-de-France, France

Mario Adorf’s westerns – actor:

The Taste of Violence - 1960 (Chamaco)

Apache Gold – 1963 (Frederick Santer)

The Last Ride to Santa Cruz - 1963 (Pedro Ortiz)

Massacre at Marble City – 1964 (Matt Ellis)

Major Dundee - 1965 (Sergeant Gomez)

Sunscorched – 1965 (Abel Dragna)

And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars – 1968 (Henry/Harry Jim)

Drop Them or I'll Shoot – 1968 (Francisco Rafael ‘El Diablo’ Fatorro)

Deadlock – 1970 (Charles ‘The Rat’ Drumm)

Winnetou the Myth Lives (TV) – 2016 (Frederick Louis Santer)

RIP Ursula Heyer

 German Synchron kartei dubbing site announced that German actress and voice dubber Ursula Heyer died in Berlin, Germany on March 25^th. She was 86. Ursula was known for her dubbing work in international films, including providing German voices for Stanley Kubrick's “A Clockwork Orange” (1971), “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (1988), and Nicholas Hytner's “The Crucible” (1996). Born on February 15, 1940, in Berlin, Germany, Heyer maintained a long career primarily in German television and theater, with appearances in series such as “A Case for Two” (1981) and “Café Wernicke” (1979). She was married to the actor Rainer Brandt until his death in 2024. Her work spans decades, bridging German-language productions with dubbing for English-language features.

HEYER. Ursula

Born: 2/15/1940, Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Died: 3/25/2026, Berlin, Berlin, Germany

 

Ursula Heyer’s westerns – actress, voice actress:

Curtain Call at Cactus Creek – 1950 [1986 German voice of Eve Arden]

Wanted Dead of Alive (TV) – 1958 [German voice of Mary Beth Hughes]

Gunsmoke (TV) – 1968, 1969 [German voice of Olga Velez, Jacqueline Scott, Beverly Garland, Donna Baccala]

Bonanza (TV) – 1961, 1963, 1969, 1973 [German voice of Sally Kemp, Margaret Hayes, Chanin Hale, Davey Davison, Julie Adams]

Yancy Derringer (TV) – 1959 [German voice of Joyce Jameson, Margaret Field, Gerrie Bender, Mari Aldon]

Apache Gold – 1963 [German voice of Dunja Rajter]

Frontier Hellcat – 1964 [German voice of Dunja Rajter]

The Sheriff was a Lady – 1964 [German voice of Beba Loncar]

A Fistful of Dollars – 1965 [German voice of Marianne Koch]

A Few Dollars for Django – 1966 [German voice of Gloria Osuna]

Texas Across the River – 1966 [German voice of Rosemary Forsyth]

Three Graves for a Winchester – 1966 [German voice of Milla Sannoner]

Django Kills Silently – 1967 [German voice of Giovanna Lenzi]

Django Kill – 1967 [German voice of Patrizia Valturri]

Killer Caliber .32 – 1967 [German voice of Agnès Spaak]

If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death – 1968 [German of Heidi Fischer]

Sonora – 1968 [German voice of Donatella Turri]

Have a Good Funeral – 1970 [German voice of Helga Liné]

Brett Maverick (TV) 1981 [German voice of Marcia Rodd]

RIP Michele Massimo Tarantini

 

Michele Massimo Tarantini, cult director of sexy comedies starring Lino Banfi and Edwige Fenech, has died.

Spettacolo

By Ivan Zingariello

April 3, 2026

 

Michele Massimo Tarantini—director and screenwriter of genre cinema, and above all of the "sexy comedies" starring Lino Banfi, Alvaro Vitali, and Edwige Fenech—has passed away. Sergio Martino remembers him: "He deserved more."

Michele Massimo Tarantini—a director and screenwriter synonymous with the "sexy comedy" genre, featuring stars such as Lino Banfi, Alvaro Vitali, and Edwige Fenech—has died in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was 83 years old, and his passing was sudden, as confirmed by director (and his cousin) Sergio Martino, whom we reached by phone and who was the first to announce the death in a social media post.

Having moved to Brazil over 40 years ago—where he owned a *fazenda* that hosted events and lavish weddings—Tarantini was remembered for us by Sergio Martino in these words: "He was younger than me; it was a traumatic experience to see him pass away before I did. He even served as my assistant director; we grew up together from childhood, and eventually, we all went into filmmaking—a path paved by our family background, given my grandfather's cinematic 'chromosomes.' Later, my brother had the genius to create films with international appeal—even if, today, his work is truly recognized only abroad. He certainly deserved more recognition; much like his cinema, he was unjustly dismissed as 'trash.' We were in touch right up until a few days ago, when he mentioned he would be coming to Italy shortly. What can you do? That’s just how life is."

Who Was Michele Massimo Tarantini?

Michele Massimo Tarantini was an Italian film director and screenwriter, born in Rome on August 7, 1942. His name is primarily associated with genre cinema and the era of the "Italian sexy comedy"—a genre of which he was one of the most prolific practitioners.

Beginnings as an Assistant Director

Before moving into directing, Tarantini worked as an assistant director, gaining experience on Italian film sets—first as an assistant on Giuliano Carnimeo’s Westerns, and later for his cousin, Sergio Martino, on legendary films such as *Giovannona Coscialunga* and *I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale*, as well as Mariano Laurenti’s *Quel gran pezzo dell’Ubalda tutta nuda e tutta calda* and Nando Cicero’s *L’insegnante*.

Establishing Himself as a Director

Beginning in the mid-1970s, he established himself as a screenwriter and director, helming numerous films aimed at a mass audience. Among the most well-known titles in his filmography are many of the celebrated "sexy comedies" starring—either together or in rotation—Lino Banfi, Alvaro Vitali, and Gianfranco D’Angelo, alongside the legendary shower scenes featuring Edwige Fenech, Gloria Guida, Lilli Carati, Nadia Cassini, and others.

Films such as *La liceale*, *Taxi Girl*, *L’insegnante viene a casa*, *La poliziotta a New York*, *La moglie in bianco… l’amante al pepe*, *La dottoressa ci sta col colonnello* (or rather *cojonello*—"the big-balled one"—as Cassini used to call Banfi), *L’insegnante al mare con tutta la classe*, and *La dottoressa preferisce i marinai* are known by heart by fans and are constantly rerun on our TV channels.

In 1981, he also directed the little-known *Crema, cioccolata e… paprika*—the first film to mark the return of the duo Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia following their lengthy separation—which earned Franchi an accusation of Mafia association, given the presence of Giuseppe, the son of boss Michele Greco, as both co-writer and actor.

All these works make him one of the most representative names of the *commedia sexy all’italiana*—a genre that was very popular during that period.

Other Genres and Filmography

Throughout his career, Tarantini also worked in other genres, including crime and adventure cinema. Notable titles include *Napoli si ribella*, *Poliziotti violenti*, *Sangraal la spada di fuoco*, *Nudo e selvaggio*, and *Attrazione selvaggia*.

Active until 1990, he subsequently attempted a revival of the classic-style comedy in 2001 with *Se lo fai sono guai*—featuring his tried-and-tested team of Vitali, D’Angelo, Gammino, and Montanaro—though by then the moment had passed; his final directorial effort dates back to 2009 with the action TV movie *Il cacciatore di uomini*, starring Luca Ward.

TARANTINI, Michele Massimo, production department, art director, editor, writer, assistant director.

Born: 8/7/1942, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Died: 4/3/2026, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

 

Michele Massimo Tarantini’s westerns -   

$10,000 Blood Money – 1967 [production department]

Vengeance is Mine – 1967 [production department]

To Hell and Back – 1968 [assistant director]

Arizona Colt – 1970 [editor]

Light the Fuse… Sartana is Coming – 1970 [assistant director]

Dig Your Grave Friend... Sabata's Coming – 1971 [editor]

Guns for Dollars – 1971 [assistant director]

My Horse, My Gun, Your Widow – 1972 [art director]

His Name Was Holy Ghost – 1973 [assistant director]

Trinity Plus the Clown and a Guitar – 1975 [writer]

RIP Robert Hinkle

 

Robert Hinkle, Who Taught Rock Hudson and Paul Newman to Talk Like a Texan, Dies at 95 

After working as a dialogue coach on ‘Giant’ and ‘Hud,’ the actor and stunt performer managed the careers of Chill Wills and Marty Robbins and directed and produced films, too. 

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

March 30, 2026

 

Robert Hinkle, a onetime rodeo performer from Texas who served as a stunt performer and dialogue coach on the acclaimed films Giant and Hud and wrote, directed and produced a Western of his own, has died. He was 95.

Hinkle died March 3 in hospice care in Austin after suffering head, back and neck injuries in a fall in his driveway five days earlier, his daughter, Melody Hinkle, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Hinkle also showed up in The Far Horizons (1955), starring Fred MacMurray and Charlton Heston as the explorers Lewis & Clark; in The Conqueror (1956), with John Wayne as Genghis Khan; and in The First Texan (1956), starring Joel McCrea as Sam Houston.

Away from the camera, he was the personal manager for actor Chill Wills and singer Marty Robbins and a promoter for daredevil Evel Knievel.

After Hinkle had briefly interviewed with George Stevens for a part in Giant (1956), the director asked him to return to his Warner Bros. office in Burbank the next day. Instead of offering him a role, Stevens asked him, “Do you think you could teach Rock Hudson to talk like you?” Hinkle recalled in his 2009 book, Call Me Lucky: A Texan in Hollywood.

For $500 a week, Hinkle got an office on the lot and worked as a dialogue coach on the sprawling film, also advising James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, Mercedes McCambridge, Carroll Baker and Dennis Hopper on how to talk like a Texan. He got to be friends with the moody Dean, taught him rope tricks and handled some uncredited stunt work as well.

“Texans don’t just say the words, they linger over them like they’re old friends, worthy of a cup of coffee,” he wrote in his book. “It’s the journey, not the destination, that’s important in a conversation.”

Hinkle also worked with Newman, Patricia Neal, Melvyn Douglas and others on Martin Ritt’s Hud (1963) and directed the scene in which Newman’s character corrals a greased pig.

In between those classics, he wrote, helmed, produced and portrayed a sheriff in the Texas-shot Ole Rex (1961), which revolves around a boy (Billy E. Hughes) who rescues a wounded dog and nurses him back to health.

The oldest of three kids, Hinkle was born on July 25, 1930, in Brownfield, Texas. His father, Wesley, worked in a chemical plant, and his mother, Hattie, ran a local hotel. He said he was 10 when he knew he wanted to be a movie cowboy — that’s when silent-film star Tom Mix visited his hometown.

After graduating from Brownfield High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and helped deliver supplies in the Berlin Airlift during his 2 1/2-year stint in the military through March 1950.

He competed in rodeos while still in the service and was riding in Pendleton, Oregon, when Universal’s Bronco Buster (1952), starring John Lund, Scott Brady and Wills, arrived to film scenes. He was hired to play a cowhand and perform stunts, and afterward, director Budd Boetticher told him to look him up if he were ever in Hollywood.

A month later, Hinkle came to Los Angeles, sneaked on the lot at Republic Pictures and bumped into Wills. The actor brought him to Boetticher, who put him in the 3-D movie Wings of the Hawk (1953).

Hinkle wound up doing stunts and/or acting in other films including All American (1953), The Bamboo Prison (1954), Outlaw Treasure (1955), Andrew V. McLaglen’s Gun the Man Down (1956), The Oklahoman (1957), Under Fire (1957), No Place to Land (1958), All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960) and The Broken Land (1962).

He also appeared on TV on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Annie Oakley, The Sheriff of Cochise, Gunsmoke, Tombstone Territory, Tales of Wells Fargo, Dragnet and, for his final credit, a 1994 episode of Walker, Texas Ranger.

Starting in 1963, Hinkle wrote, directed and produced two-reel shorts for Paramount and a year later shepherded a series of Hollywood Jubilee country music specials.

He also produced for the big screen Country Music (1972), featuring Robbins; produced and directed Atoka (1982), which saw Robbins, Willie Nelson, Larry Gatlin, Freddy Fender, Hoyt Axton and others performing at a country music festival in Oklahoma; and produced Guns of a Stranger (1973), starring Robbins and Wills.

In addition to his daughter, survivors include his son, Brad; daughter-in-law Marlinda; granddaughters Jennifer and Kim; and great-grandchildren Brady and Taylor. Another son, Michael, a Vietnam veteran, died in 1991.

While competing in 1950 as a calf-roper and bulldogger in Moses Lake, Washington, Hinkle met his future wife, Sandra, then the Queen of the Rodeo. They married in June 1952 and were together for 73 years until her death in July.

His family will put his ashes to rest on June 6 in Brownfield.

HINKLE, Robert (Robert Daryl Hinkle)

Born: 7/25/1930, Brownfield, Texas, U.S.A.

Died: 3/3/2026, Round Rock, Texas, U.S.A.

 

Robert Hinkle’s westerns – producer, director, writer, stuntman, actor:

Bronco Buster – 1952 (Bob) [stunts]

The Far Horizons – 1955 (Jake)

Outlaw Treasure – 1955 (Frank James)

Dakota Incident – 1956 (Joe)

Giant – 1956 [stunts]

The First Texan – 1956 (Lieutenant Hargrove)

The First Traveling Saleslady – 1956 (Pete)

Gun the Man Down – 1956 (deputy)

The Badge of Marshal Brennan – 1957 [stunts]

The Oklahoman – 1957 (Ken)

Annie Oakley (TV) - 1957 (Reno)

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp – (TV) 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959 (cowboy, Don Burkett, rider)

The Sheriff of Cochise (TV) – 1957 (Bronco)

Tombstone Territory (TV) - 1957 (gang member)

Tales of Wells Fargo (TV) – 1958 (Mac)

The Gunfight at Dodge City – 1959 (Rafe)

Ole Rex – 1961 [producer, director, writer]

The Broken Land – 1962 (Dave) [stunts]

Young Guns of Texas – 1962 (Sheriff Simon)

Frontier Circus (TV) – 1962 (Dave)

Gunsmoke (TV) – 1962 (cowboy, rider)

Hud – 1963 (Frank)

The Rounders (TV) – 1966 (cowboy)

Guna of a Stranger – 1973 [producer, director]

Walker, Texas Ranger (TV) – 1994 (judge)

RIP Alex Duong

 

Alex Duong, 'Blue Bloods' Actor, Dies at 42 After Rare Cancer Battle. What He Shared About His Diagnosis

The actor previously spoke to the Los Angeles Times about his diagnosis with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.

TODAY

By Chrissy Callahan

March 30, 2026

 

Following a battle with a rare soft tissue cancer, actor Alex Duong has died at the age of 42.

Duong, who appeared in "Blue Bloods," "Sideways for Attention," "Tugged" and several other projects, passed away on March 28, according to a GoFundMe verified by NBC News. He is survived by his wife, Christina, and their 5-year-old daughter, Everest.

NBC News has reached out to a spokesperson for Duong to confirm his death but has yet to hear back.

After Duong was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, the GoFundMe was set up in February 2025 to support his family as he underwent treatment.

Hilarie Steele, the woman who started the crowdfunding page, announced Duong's death in a March 28 update.

"With the heaviest hearts, we share that our dear Alex passed away peacefully this morning, surrounded by love and dear friends. He was comfortable and thankfully out of pain. Christina and Everest were able to see him last night, and he was alert enough to say goodbye to his little girl, whom he has treasured every moment since the day she was born," the update reads.

Alex Duong’s Cancer Diagnosis

Duong was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma in early 2025, according to an interview with the Los Angeles Times from April that year.

He revealed that he first knew something was wrong with his health when he felt a headache building behind his eyes.

One day when he went to work, Duong's manager told him his left eye looked like it was "about to fall out" and sent him home, the Times reported. When he looked at his eye, the actor noticed that it looked "massive, taut and discolored," per the outlet.

Duong was later diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma and learned that he had a malignant mass that was blocking blood flow to his optic nerve.

The actor and his family didn't have health insurance when he was diagnosed. Afterward, he signed up for marketplace insurance and visited the emergency room. Following a week in the hospital, Duong underwent a biopsy and learned that his tumor was very aggressive.

Duong left the hospital with an eye patch and secured an appointment for treatment in two months. Days later, he lost vision in his left eye.

The actor then spent two and a half weeks in the hospital and found a sarcoma specialist. At the time of his interview with the Los Angeles Times, he was undergoing a second round of chemotherapy and white blood cell injections to boost his immune system.

Per the Los Angeles Times, the mass behind Duong's eyeball extended into his nasal cavity and the side of his neck. Over time, the size of the tumor shrunk, but the actor experienced monocular vision.

Over the course of the last year, Duong's GoFundMe page shared several updates on the status of his health — including one from March 27, 2026, explaining that he'd gone into septic shock.

DUONG, Alex

Born: 3/20/1984, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.

Died: 3/28/2026, Santa Monica, California, U.S.A

 

Alex Duong’s western – actor:

Finding China – 2015 (Kyle)

RIP Mary Beth Hurt

 

Mary Beth Hurt Dies: ‘The Age of Innocence’ & ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ Actress Was 79 

DEADLINE

By Glenn Garner

March 29, 2026

 

Mary Beth Hurt, the actress known for roles in The Age of Innocence and Six Degrees of Separation, has died. She was 79.

The 3x Tony-nominated actress’ daughter Molly Schrader, whom she shared with husband Paul Schrader, announced that Hurt died on Saturday after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2015.

“Yesterday morning we lost my mom, Mary Beth, to Alzheimer’s after a decade long battle with the disease,” wrote Molly on Instagram. “She was an actress, a wife, a sister, a mother, an aunt, a friend, and she took on all those rolls with grace and a kind ferocity. Although we’re grieving there is some comfort in knowing she is no longer suffering and is reunited with her sisters in peace.”

Born Sept. 25, 1946 in Marshalltown, Iowa, where actress Jean Seberg was her babysitter, Mary Beth Supinger studied acting at University of Iowa and New York University.

Making her stage debut in the 1974 off-Broadway production of Jim Steinman and Michael Weller’s More Than You Deserve, Mary Beth was nominated for three Tony Awards for her performances in Trelawny of the Wells (1975), Crimes of the Heart (1981) and Benefactors (1985-’86).

In 1978, Mary Beth played her first onscreen role as Joey in Woody Allen’s Interiors, starring alongside the late Diane Keaton. She went on to appear in The World According to Garp (1982), The Age of Innocence (1993), Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Autumn in New York (2000), The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), The Dead Girl (2006), Lady in the Water (2006) and Young Adult (2011), as well as episodes of Kojak, Thirtysomething, Saturday Night Live and Law & Order.

Mary Beth was married to late actor William Hurt from 1971 to ’82, before marrying Schrader in 1983. She and the Oscar-nominated filmmaker shared daughter Molly and son Sam.

HURT, Mary Beth (Mary Beth Supinger)

Born: 9/25/1946, Marshalltown, Iowa, U.S.A.

Died: 3/28/2026, Manhattan, New York, U.S.A.

 

Mary Beth Hurt’s western – actress:

Royce (TV) – 1976 (Susan Mabry)

RIP Barry Caldwell

 

Barry Caldwell, ‘Animaniacs’ and ‘Osmosis Jones’ Animator, Dies at 68

Variety

By Payton Turkeltaub

March 28, 2026

 

Barry Caldwell, the animator and director behind the cartoon series “Animaniacs” and the film “Osmosis Jones,” has died. He was 68. 

The news of his death was confirmed in a Facebook post shared by his colleague, friend and fellow animator Paul Dini, who was informed of Caldwell’s death by Dan Haskett, an animator and art director.

“Barry Caldwell was one of the first animation artists I met when I started my career fresh out of school way back around 1980. He was also one of the finest artists I ever met, and easily one of the best people. The man’s talent as a cartoonist, designer and director was revered throughout the industry,” wrote Dini, who went on to refer to Caldwell as a “a genial giant of a guy that you liked from the moment you met him” who “knew more about cartoons than you or I ever will (trust me on this), yet he was incredibly generous with his time and his talent.”

He continued: “Barry was admired, celebrated and loved by just about everyone, myself included, for many more reasons than I can list here. Gonna miss you, pally.”

Caldwell’s art career began in 1980 with an episode of “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids,” followed by jobs as a storyboard artist on TV series including “The New Adventures of Zorro,” “Blackstar,” “The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show,” “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,” “The Smurfs” and “Alvin & the Chipmunks.” In the 2000s, Caldwell went on to work on beloved series, including “Clifford the Big Red Dog” and “Kim Possible,” among others. He also worked on films including 2001’s “Osmosis Jones,” “The Tigger Movie,” “Mulan II” and “Curious George.”

Caldwell was born on June 19, 1957, in New York City, where he attended the School of Visual Arts before working at Warner Bros. Animation, Walt Disney Television Studios and DreamWorks.

CALDWELL, Barry

Born: 6/18/1957, New York City, New YoRk, U.S.A.

Died: 3/28/2026, 

Barry Caldwell’s western – art department:

The New Adventures of Zorro (TV) – 1981 [art department]

RIP James Tolkan

 

James Tolkan, ‘Back to the Future’ and ‘Top Gun’ Actor, Dies at 94

He also appeared in 'Dick Tracy,' three Sidney Lumet movies and on Broadway in the original 'Glengarry Glen Ross.'

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

March 27, 2026

 

James Tolkan, the character actor who expressed a disdain for “slackers” in the Back to the Future trilogy and portrayed Tom Cruise’s no-nonsense commanding officer in Top Gun, has died. He was 94.

Tolkan died Thursday in Saranac Lake, New York, a family spokesperson announced.

Tolkan also played Napoleon and his look-alike in Woody Allen’s Love and Death (1975) and was the crooked accountant known as Numbers who works for Big Boy Caprice (Al Pacino) in Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy (1990).

He appeared in three movies directed by Sidney Lumet: as a cop in the Pacino-starring Serpico (1973), as a determined D.A. in Prince of the City (1981) and as a judge in Family Business (1989).

On Broadway, Tolkan portrayed salesman Dave Moss in the original 1984-85 production of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross. (Ed Harris played the character in the 1992 movie adaptation.)

Tolkan, whose specialty was playing intense, intimidating types, was steely as Hill Valley High School principal Mr. Strickland in Back to the Future (1985) and its 1989 sequel, then returned as Strickland’s grandfather in Back to the Future Part III (1990). Pretty much wherever he went, fans asked him to berate them as “slackers” just for fun.

In Top Gun (1986), he was imposing yet again as Tom “Stinger” Jardian when he lights into Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell for reckless behavior.

Tolkan’s big-screen résumé also included The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973), The Amityville Horror (1979), Wolfen (1981), WarGames (1983), Masters of the Universe (1987), True Blood (1989) and Opportunity Knocks (1990).

Born on June 20, 1931, in Calumet, Michigan, James Stewart Tolkan cycled through Chicago after his parents divorced and wound up in Tucson, Arizona, where he graduated from Amphitheater High School in 1949. After a stint in the U.S. Navy, he attended Coe College and the University of Iowa, came to New York with $75 in his pocket and studied with Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg at The Actors Studio, where Beatty was a classmate in 1956.

He made his onscreen debut in 1960 on an episode of ABC’s Naked City, and in 1966 he understudied for Robert Duvall before replacing him as bad guy Harry Roat in the original Broadway production of Wait Until Dark, starring Lee Remick. (Alan Arkin was cast as Roat in the 1967 film.)

Later, Tolkan played insurance investigator Norman Keyes on five episodes of NBC’s Remington Steele and several characters over 21 installments of A&E’s A Nero Wolfe Mystery (he directed a couple of episodes as well).

He also guest-starred on Miami Vice, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Wonder Years, Leverage and many other shows.

Survivors include his wife, Parmelee, who worked at the American Place Theater as a costumes and scenery painter. They met on the set of the 1971 off-Broadway play Pinkville when he was acting in it and she was a prop girl, and they married that year in Lake Placid.

Donations in his memory can be made to your local animal shelter, animal rescue organization or Humane Society chapter.

TOLKAN, James (James Stewart Tolkan)

Born: 6/20/1931, Calumet, Michigan, U.S.A

Died: 3/26/2026, Saranac Lake, New York, U.S.A.

 

James Tolkan’s westerns – actor:

Back to the Future 3 – 1990 (Marshal Strickland)

Bone Tomahawk – 2015 (pianist)

RIP Marta Lubos

 

Marta Lubos died at the age of 82; the actress stood out in theater, film and television and achieved international projection with the series "Mujeres asesinas".

Excelsior

By: Jessica Zamora

March 27, 2026

 

With a career built over several decades, Marta Lubos managed to move through different formats and audiences, from the theater stages to television, where her presence achieved international recognition.

Argentine actress Marta Lubos has died at the age of 82, after a solid career in theater, film and television. Her work left an important mark on the series Mujeres asesinas, a production that brought her talent to new generations and expanded her reach beyond the theater circuit.

The news was confirmed by the Argentine Association of Actors and Actresses (AAA) through its social networks on the morning of Friday, March 27. In the message, the organization highlighted her artistic legacy and her place within the acting community.

It is with deep regret that we say goodbye to our affiliate, the actress Marta Lubos, who developed an outstanding and extensive career in theater, film and television, consolidating herself as an interpreter of great versatility

Who was Marta Lubos, actress of "Mujeres asesinas"?

Marta Lubos was an Argentine actress with a career spanning several decades, recognized mainly for her work in theater. His training and professional development were closely linked to the stage, where he built a constant and respected presence.

Although she participated in different productions, her name reached greater international projection after her appearance in Mujeres asesinas. The series, based on cases inspired by real events, portrays stories of women taken to extreme situations, which allowed her work to connect with audiences outside Argentina.

This television project represented a meeting point between her stage experience and a wide-ranging audiovisual format. Thanks to this, new generations were able to approach his career.

Within the Argentine cultural sphere, Lubos was considered a relevant figure for her perseverance and commitment to art. His career was characterized by an active participation in the theater, a space where he consolidated his artistic identity.

This is known about his death

The death of Marta Lubos was also announced by her relatives through a statement published on her official Facebook account. In the message, her children shared parting words and details about the last goodbye to the actress.

Her children, Joaquín and Laura, invite all her loved ones to say goodbye to her. She left loved, grateful, full of light and at peace. We appreciate not sending floral offerings,” they said.

Through social networks, Joaquín Segade and Laura Segade reported that the farewell of the actress will take place on Friday, March 27.

What did Marta Lubos die of?

So far, the causes of Marta Lubos' death have not been officially announced. The news generated immediate reactions within the artistic field, where colleagues, institutions and cultural organizations expressed their sorrow.

Although his presence on television and film allowed him to expand his reach, his greatest contribution is in the theater. In that space he developed a career marked by discipline, interpretive sensitivity and commitment to each project.

Marta Lubos' career is part of a generation of performers who consolidated theater as a fundamental space for artistic expression in Argentina. His work contributed to strengthening the local scene and projecting it to other audiences.

Her participation in television productions such as Mujeres asesinas allowed her to build a bridge between the theater and the screen, which expanded the visibility of her career.

The recognition of his work came not only from the public, but also from institutions and colleagues who valued his perseverance over the years. His name remains linked to a significant stage of Argentine cultural development.

LUBOS, Marta (Marta Matilde Lubos)

Born: 8/18/1943, Argentina

Died: 3/27/2026, Buenos Aires, Argentina

 

Marta Lubos’ western – actress:

Gauchito Gil – 2020 (Irandú)

RIP Tony Wickert

 

Martin WICKERT Obituary

Sydney Morning Herald

February 20, 2026

 

WICKERT

Martin Anthony (Tony)

16/1/1937 – 17/2/2026

Died peacefully at home with his loving family around him.

Beloved partner of Rosie and devoted father to Barny, Joe and Guy and their partners. Adoring grandfather to Maxine, Charlotte, Ida and Flo. Fond brother to Judith, Robert and David.

Born in Wollongong, Tony built a life defined by a commitment to the possibilities of education through media.

His legacy lives on through his films and shared memories of his warmth, leadership and integrity.

Family and friends are warmly invited to attend a celebration of Tony's life at Mylestom Hall, 18-20 River St, Mylestom NSW,

on Feb 21st from 4pm.

A Sydney event is being planned.

 

WICKERT, Tony (Martin Anthony Wickert)

Born: 1/16/1937, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

Died:  2/17/2026, Mylestom, New South Wales, Australia

 

Tony Wickert’s western – actor:

Whiplash (TV) 1960-1961 (Dan Ledward)

RIP Reagan Wilson

 

Facebook

 March 20, 2026

 

Diana Hornig, aka, Reagan Wilson was an American model and actress, who was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its October 1967 issue, has died at 79.

Wilson was born in Torrance, California, and attended Roosevelt Elementary School in Santa Monica. After her parents' divorce, she relocated to Missoula, Montana with her mother, younger brother and sister. She studied journalism at the University of Montana.

Wilson began working as a model after relocating to Los Angeles, California in the late 1960s. She made her film debut in the 1970 horror film Blood Mania with fellow Playmate Vicki Peters, and later appeared in the 1973 film Running with the Devil. Wilson later relocated to New York City, where she did further modeling work, followed by jobs in Paris and London.

In 1968, Wilson appeared at a Men's Day event at the University of Washington in Seattle, which also featured a concert by Phil Ochs. Wilson was criticized for her appearance by feminist organizers, who chanted, "Reagan Wilson, you are an empty vessel" at the event.

In November 1969, a nude photo of Wilson made a trip to the Moon. As a joke, NASA ground staff hid a small nude photo of her (along with fellow playmates Angela Dorian, Cynthia Myers and Leslie Bianchini) inside the schedule of Apollo 12's mission commander, Pete Conrad. A photograph of Pete Conrad in his spacesuit with the Lunar Module in the background can be enlarged to see her picture.

Pete Conrad was the third man to walk on the Moon.

Wilson again posed nude for Playboy for the December 1979 pictorial "Playmates Forever!"

Wilson married Barry Hornig in 1987. The couple owns a textile rug company in Santa Monica, California.

WILSON, Reagan (Reagan Diana Wilson)

Born: 3/6/1947, Torrance, California, U.S.A.

Died: 3/20/2026, Santa Monica, California, U.S.A.

 

Reagan Wilson’s western – actress:

The Big Valley (TV) – 1967 (Jeanette)