RIP Toian Matchinga

 

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

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

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

November 20, 2024

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MATCHINGA, Toian (Caryn Lee Matchinga)

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

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

 

Toian Matchinga’s westerns – actress:

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

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

Iron Horse (TV) – 1966 (Serafina)

The Big Valley (TV) – 1967 (Seataki)

Rango (TV) – 1967 (Carmelita)

RIP Lucian Iancu

 

Actor Lucian Iancu died at the age of 84

DIGI24

11/20/2024

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IANCU, Lucian

Born: 2/3/1940, Constanța, Romania

Died: 11/20/2024, Bucharest. Romania

 

Lucian Iancu’s westerns – actor:

Apaches – 1973 (Chico)

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

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

     Lucian]

RIP Charles Dumont

 

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

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

Le Monde

November 18, 2024

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DUMONT, Charles

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

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

 

Charles Dumont’s western – composer:

Belle Starr – 1968

RIP Sam Strangis

 

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

Variety

By Andrés Buenahora

October 1, 2024

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

STRANGIS, Sam (Samuel John Strangis)

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

RIP Svetlana Svetlichnaya

 

Svetlana Svetlichnaya died

Star

November 16, 2024

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

SVETLICHNAVA, Svetlana (Svetlana Afanasyevna Svetlichnaya)

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

Died: 11/16/2024, Moscow, Russia

 

Svetlana Svetlichnaya’s western – actress:

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

RIP Arturo Garcia Tenorio

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

rpp

By Renzo Alvarez

November 14, 2024

 

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

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

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

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

The versatile career of Arturo García Tenorio

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

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

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

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

TENORIO, Arturo Garcia

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

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

 

Arturo Garcia Tenorio’s westerns – actor:

Bloody Marlene – 1979 (Hermano brother)

Charrito – 1984 (friend of McCutchen)

RIP Paul Engelen

 

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

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

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

November 12, 2024

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ENGELEN, Paul

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

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

 

Paul Engelen’s western – makeup artist:

Cold Mountain - 2003