RIP Carl Davis

 

The Guardian

August 3, 2023

 

Bafta-winning composer Carl Davis dies aged 86

Musician best known for BBC’s Pride and Prejudice and 1981’s The French Lieutenant’s Woman also composed for silent film, stage and concert hall

Bafta-winning composer and conductor Carl Davis has died at the age of 86, his family has announced today.

Davis, whose work included the music for the BBC’s 1995 drama Pride and Prejudice, won a Bafta and an Ivor Novello award for his score to 1981 film classic The French Lieutenant’s Woman.

A statement from his family said: “We are heartbroken to announce that Carl Davis (CBE) passed away this morning, following a brain haemorrhage.

“We are so proud that Carl’s legacy will be his astonishing impact on music. A consummate all-round musician, he was the driving force behind the reinvention of the silent movie for this generation and he wrote scores for some of the most-loved and remembered British television dramas.”

Davis was born in Brooklyn, New York, but had lived in the UK since 1961. His other credits included music for BBC dramas Upstairs, Downstairs in 2010, and Cranford in 2007, as well as music for films including the 1984 hit Champions starring Sir John Hurt, 1989’s Scandal with Hurt and Joanne Whalley, and most famously The French Lieutenant’s Woman with Meryl Streep.

His music has accompanied a host of British movie classics including 1971’s Up Pompeii!, Widows’ Peak in 1994 with the late Natasha Richardson and Mia Farrow and 1993’s The Trial with Sir Anthony Hopkins.

In the 1970s, Jeremy Isaacs commissioned Davis to write the award-winning score for The World at War television series and he was later commissioned by the BBC to compose music for a host of classic serials. In 1991, he collaborated with Paul McCartney on The Liverpool Oratorio, an eight-movement work loosely based on McCartney’s life, written to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. He continued composing well into his 80s, creating four full-length dance works in the last seven years alone: Nijinsky (2016) Chaplin, The Tramp (2019), The Great Gatsby (2019) and Le Fantôme et Christine, which premiered at the Shanghai Ballet in May 2023.

Sam Wigglesworth, director of performance music at Faber, Davis’s publisher since 1990, said:

“To spend time with Carl was an energising – often dizzying – joy … Few, if any, composers today can boast such an eclectic life in music, and our world will be a duller place without him.”

He is survived by his wife, actor Jean Boht, their two daughters and three grandchildren.

DAVIS, Carl

Born: 10/28/1936, Brookly, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 8/3/2023, Oxford, England, U.K.

 

Carl Davis’ westerns – musician, composer:

Greed – 1924 [added score]

The Wind – 1928 [added score]

Bob the Builder: Built to Be Wild – 2006 [musician]

RIP Marc Gilpin

 

Marc Gilpin, Young Actor on ‘Jaws 2,’ Dies at 56

The brother of 'Frasier' star Peri Gilpin portrayed one of Roy Scheider's two sons in the 1978 sequel.

 

Variety

By Mike Barnes

August 1, 2023

 

Marc Gilpin, who played the younger son of Roy Scheider’s Police Chief Martin Brody in Jaws 2, has died. He was 56.

Gilpin died Saturday in Dallas after a long battle with glioblastoma, his older sister, Frasier actress Peri Gilpin, announced.

After answering a casting call, Gilpin beat out hundreds of other boys to get hired as Sean Brody in the 1978 sequel to the blockbuster Jaws (1975), directed by Steven Spielberg. He was 11 when the movie reached theaters.

Jaws 2 was directed by Jeannot Szwarc. Lorraine Gary returned as Chief Brody’s wife, but their sons, Michael and Sean, portrayed by Chris Rebello and Jay Mello in the original, were replaced by Mark Gruner and Gilpin in the second film.

A year later, Gilpin guest-starred on NBC’s CHiPs and appeared with his younger sister, April, on ABC’s Fantasy Island. In 1981, he was in the films The Legend of the Long Ranger and Earthbound.

In the 1985 ABC telefilm Surviving, which told the story of a teenager (Zach Galligan) dealing with the aftermath of his father’s affair, Gilpin was in a top-notch cast that included veterans Ellen Burstyn, Marsha Mason, Len Cariou and Paul Sorvino and up-and-coming stars River Phoenix, Molly Ringwald and Heather O’Rourke.

After receiving strong notices for Surviving, Gilpin was spotted by manager Jerry Silverhardt in Williamstown, Massachusetts, while he was visiting Peri. Silverhardt wanted to sign him, and Gilpin was OK with that — but only if he would sign Peri as well.

Peri, of course, found fame with her work on the NBC comedy Frasier as Roz Doyle, producer of the radio show hosted by Kelsey Grammer’s Frasier Crane.

Born in Austin on Sept. 26, 1966, Marc Gilpin booked his first national commercial, a spot for Exxon, when he was 4. He then appeared on a 1977 episode of the Saturday morning NBC series Thunder and landed the title role in the family film Where’s Willy? (1978) before his gig on Jaws 2.

After working on episodes of NBC’s Silver Spoons and ABC’s China Beach and in the 1989 movie She’s Out of Control, Gilpin became a self-taught software engineer. He was involved with a start-up company and then worked for another firm for which he earned several software patents, his family said.

His sister April died in July 2017 at age 48. Another sister, Patti, died in 2020 at age 57.

In addition to Peri, Marc’s survivors include his wife of 24 years, Kaki, and sons Spencer, 18, and Presley, 16.

GILPIN, Marc

Born: 9/26/1966, Austin, Texas, U.S.A.

Died: 7/29/2023, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.

 

Marc Gilpin’s western – actor:

The Legend of the Lone Ranger – 1981 (young John Reid)

 

rip Paul Reubens

 

Paul Reubens, Pee-wee Herman Actor, Dies at 70 After Private Bout of Cancer

Variety

By Ethan Shanfield

July 31, 2023

 

Paul Reubens, the actor best known for portraying Pee-wee Herman, died Sunday night after a private bout of cancer. He was 70.

“Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” wrote Reubens in a statement posted to Instagram after his death. “I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”

“Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness,” wrote Reubens’ estate in the caption. “Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.”

Reubens began his career in the 1970s after joining the Los Angeles live comedy troupe the Groundlings as an improvisational comedian and stage actor. In 1980, he launched “The Pee-wee Herman Show,” a stage production centered on a fictional character he had been developing for years. As Pee-wee became a cult figure, Reubens’ show ran for five sold-out months, and he landed a special at HBO. Reubens also committed to the character in his interviews and public appearances.

In 1985, he teamed with Tim Burton on “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” the character’s feature film debut, which was a critical and commercial success. Reubens returned three years later for a follow-up film, “Big Top Pee-wee,” helmed by Randal Kleiser. The character transitioned to television from 1986 to 1990, on CBS’ weekend morning show “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.”

Reubens’ image as a beloved childhood hero was tarnished when, in 1991, he was arrested for indecent exposure at an adult movie theater in Sarasota, Fla. At the center of a national sex scandal, Reubens backed away from Pee-wee and began doing press as himself. He wouldn’t again reprise the iconic role until 2010, when he revived “The Pee-wee Herman Show” on Broadway and made several other appearances, on “WWE Raw” and in a couple of digital sketches for Funny or Die. In 2016, Reubens co-wrote and starred in Netflix’s “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday,” a sequel to 1988’s “Big Top,” which would serve as Reubens’ final film role before his death.

Throughout his career, Reubens starred in a variety of other projects as well, including Kinka Usher’s superhero comedy “Mystery Men” and Ted Demme’s biographical crime drama “Blow.” He also appeared in “Batman Returns,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Matilda,” and his television credits include “30 Rock,” “The Blacklist,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Hercules,” “Rugrats,” “Reno 911!” and “What We Do in the Shadows.”

In 2002, after turning himself in to the Hollywood division of the Los Angeles Police Department, Reubens was charged with misdemeanor possession of obscene material improperly depicting a child under the age of 18 in sexual conduct. A self-proclaimed collector of erotica, Reubens disagreed with the city’s classification of pornography. His child pornography charges were dropped in 2004 after he agreed to plead guilty to a lesser misdemeanor obscenity charge.

In an interview with NBC News’ Stone Phillips, Herman said in 2005: “One thing I want to make very, very clear, I don’t want anyone for one second to think that I am titillated by images of children. It’s not me. You can say lots of things about me. And you might. The public may think I’m weird. They may think I’m crazy or anything that anyone wants to think about me. That’s all fine. As long as one of the things you’re not thinking about me is that I’m a pedophile. Because that’s not true.”

Before his death, Reubens was developing two Pee-wee Herman projects, one a black comedy titled “The Pee-wee Herman Story” and the other a family adventure film called “Pee-wee’s Playhouse: The Movie.”

REUBENS, Paul (Paul Rubenfeld)

Born: 8/27/1952, Peekskill, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 7/30/2023, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

 

Paul Reubens’ western – actor:

South of Heaven, West of Hell – 2006 (Arvid Henry)

RIP Inga Swenson

 

‘Benson’ Star Inga Swenson Dies at Age 90

tv insider

By Isaac Rouse

July 28, 2023

 

Inga Swenson, known for her role as German cook Gretchen Kraus in the sitcom Benson, has died at the age of 90.

According to reports, her son Mark says the actress died on July 23 of natural causes. Mark also says her husband, Lowell Harris, was with her at a board and care facility in Los Angeles when she died. Her health reportedly was on the decline for the past six months.

Swenson appeared in over 150 episodes, earning three Emmy nominations for her work on the 1980s show over seven years. Swenson had a recurring role as Ingrid Svenson in the TV sitcom Soap, which served as the basis for the spin-off show Benson. In Benson, Kraus serves as a German cook who plays foil against the titular character (Robert Guillaume), the head of household affairs for widowed Governor Euge (James Noble).

Apart from her work on Benson, Swenson made a name for herself on Broadway with notable performances as Lizzie Curry in 110 in the Shade and Irene Adler in Baker Street. These outstanding portrayals earned her two Tony Award nominations for Best Actress in a Musical. She was not only an accomplished actress but also a trained lyrical soprano.

In 1962, Inga appeared in two movies, playing supporting roles in Advise and Consent and The Miracle Worker, where she portrayed Helen Keller’s mother. In February 1953, Inga married Lowell, a sound engineer, and the couple had two children. Sadly, one of their children passed away before her.

After Benson, Swenson took on various roles, also making guest appearances in Newhart, The Golden Girls, and Hotel episodes.

In 1998, Inga decided to retire from Hollywood. Her final wish was to be cremated, with her ashes to be laid to rest alongside her late son in San Rafael, CA.

SWENSON, Inga (Winifred Inga Swenson)

Born: 12/29/1932, Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.A.

Died: 7/23/2023, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

 

Inga Swenson’s westerns – actress:

Bonanza (TV) – 1962, 1963 (Inger Borgstom, Inger Borgstrom Cartwright)

Sara – 1975 (Henrietta

The Mountain Men – 1980 (singer at rendezvous)

North & South: Book 1 (TV) Maude Hazard

RIP Jerome Coopersmith

 

Legacy.com

Anthony Funeral & Cremation Chapels

July 24, 2023

 

Jerome (Jerry) Coopersmith, age 97, of Rochester, NY passed away peacefully on July 21, 2023. Jerry was born on August 11, 1925, in New York City. He was an award-winning dramatist known for television, theater, and his work as a professor of screenplay writing. Working in the television industry since 1947, Jerry authored more than 100 television scripts for anthology dramas and episodic series and is perhaps best known for writing "Hawaii Five-O (1967-1980)." His theatrical plays spanned Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional productions. Jerry was a member of the Dramatists Guild, Mystery Writers of America, and a past officer of the Writers Guild of America, East. For more information about Jerry's career please visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Coopersmith

Jerry was a World War II veteran, serving in the United States Army, 94th Infantry Division from 1943-1945. He was the recipient of a Combat Infantryman Badge, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, and European Theater of Operations Medal with three battle stars. In 2019, at age 94, he was honored with the highest distinction of Chevalier, or Knight, in the National Order of the French Legion of Honor in recognition of his service to France in World War II.

Jerry is survived by his two daughters, Amy Coopersmith Lauria (Ken) and Jill Andrea Lambert (Robert), his grandchildren Kyle Cheney (Hannah) and Kim Nicholetti (Shane), his step-grandchildren Stephanie Lauria, Kevin Lauria, Michelle Franzen (Danny), and Daniel Lambert, four great-grandchildren, Clara Josephine Cheney, Beatrice Dorothy Cheney, Ashton Daniel Franzen, and Gavin Louis Franzen, his niece, Gretchen Garrett (Jeff), and many life-long friends.

A Memorial Service will be held at Anthony Funeral Chapel, 2305 Monroe Avenue, Rochester NY on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at 12:00 pm Eastern. The service will be livestreamed here. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial donations to the Rochester Regional Health, Unity Hospital. (www.rrhgive.org/giving)

COOPERSMITH, Jerome

Born: 8/11/1925, New York City, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 7/21/2023, Rochester, New York, U.S.A.

 

Jerome Coopersmith’s westerns – writer”

The Gabby Hayes Show (TV) - 1951

RIP Michele Kalamera

 Dead Michele Kalamera, the great "earning" voice actor of Clint Eastwood

In 1976 he had been chosen by the same actor and director from "The Outlaw Josey Wales." “He said he had finally found his Italian voice”

la Republica

By the Spettacoli editorial staff

July 26, 2023

 

"I was chosen by Clint Eastwood himself, after he saw my audition for "The Outlaw Josey Wales," it was 1976, he enthusiastically said that he had finally found his Italian voice, and I have never left him since". So said Michele Kalamera, actor and voice actor of long experience who died yesterday, Tuesday 25 July, at the age of 84.

The theater with Projects

Michelino Calamera, better known as Michele Kalamera (the Greek surname had been Italianized during Fascism) was born in Conegliano, in the province of Treviso, on February 12, 1939. Known in particular as a dubber, he was also a stage actor: in 1963 he founded, together with Gigi Proietti, the permanent theater of L'Aquila. He also worked in radio.

The debut as a voice actor

In 1966 he made his debut as a voice actor, directed by a historical figure of dubbing as Fede Arnaud in Mark Damon's film “God, How I Love You!”. But Kalamera's notoriety is linked in particular to Clint Eastwood, to whom he has given his voice in all the films since 1976, except for a parenthesis that goes from 1986 "when they took him away for Gunny and I took him back in 1990 with “White Hunter Black Heart”.

Not just Clint Eastwood

During his long career, Kalamera has also made other great actors speak Italian, such as Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Donald Sutherland, Robert Redford, Roy Scheider, F. Murray Abraham, Christopher Plummer. And again: Burt Reynolds, Christopher Lee, Jack Palance, David Bowie, Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow and Anthony Hopkins. A total of over 5,000 film and TV stars, 5,000 co-stars, 5,000 key characters in TV series, countless cameos.

"I have always rejected labels such as teacher and the like - Kalamera said of himself - I consider myself a dubber, indeed, as I like to define myself: an earworm".

Michele Kalamera (Michelino Calamera)

Born: 2/12/1938, Conegliano, Venero, Treviso, Italy

Died: 7/25/2023, Rome, Lazio, Italy

 

Michele Kalamera’s westerns – voice actor:

Two RRRingos from Texas – 1967 [Italian voice of unknown actor]

The Way West - 1967 [Italian voice of Kirk Douglas]

Beyond the Law – 1968 [Italian voice of Gordon Mitchell]

Shotgun – 1968 [Italian voice of Mimmo Palmara]

Sonora – 1968 [Italian voice of George Martin]

Zorro the Fox – 1968 [Italian voice of Giacomo Rossi Stuart]

Cemetery Without Crosses – 1969 [Italian voice of Robert Hossein]

El Puro – 1969 [Italian voice of Robert Woods]

Four Came to Kill Sartana – 1969 [Italian voice of Benito Pacifico]

God Will Forgive My Pistol – 1969 [Italian voice Wayde Preston]

Heaven With a Gun - 1969 [Italian voice of Glenn Ford]

I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death – 1969 [Italian voice of Gianni Garko]

Sartana and His Shadow of Death – 1969 [Italian voice of Benito Pacifico]

Tell Them Willie Boy is Here – 1969 [Italian voice of Robert Redford]

True Grit – 1969 [Italian voice of Robert Duvall]

The Wild Bunch – 1969 [Italian voice of Robert Ryan]

Zorro the Lawman – 1969 [Italian voice of Fabio Testi]

Apocalypse Joe – 1970 [Italian voice of Anthony Steffen]

Ballad of Death Valley – 1970 [Italian voice of William Berger]

Catlow – 1971 [Italian voice of Richard Crenna]

Dead Men Ride – 1971 [Italian voice of Fabio Testi]

Vengeance Trail – 1971 [Italian voice of Ivan Rassimov]

Trinity and Sartana are Coming – 1972 [Italian voice of Harry Baird]

Fasthand is Still My Name – 1973 [Italian voice of Sergio Ciani]

Here We Go Again, Eh Providence – 1973 [Italian voice of Manuel Gallardo]

The Grand Duel – 1973 [Italian voice of Horst Frank]

White Fang – 1973 [Italian voice of John Steiner]

Blood River – 1974 [Italian voice of Fabio Testi]

Challenge to White Fang – 1974 [Italian voice of John Steiner]

The Four of the Apocalypse – 1975 [Italian voice of Fabio Testi]

Red Coat – 1975 [Italian voice of Fabio Testi]

Return of Shanghai Joe – 1975 [Italian voice of Klaus Kinski]

White Fang to the Rescue – 1975 [Italian voice of Henry Silva]

The Outlaw Josey Wales – 1976 [Italian voice of Clint Eastwood]

China 9, Liberty 37 – 1978 [Italian voice of Fabio Testi]

Bronco Billy – 1980 [Italian voice of Clint Eastwood]

Young Guns II – 1990 [Italian voice of James Coburn]

The Last of the Mohicans – 1992 [Italian voice of Russell Means, Maurice Roeves]

Unforgiven – 1992 [Italian voice of Clint Eastwood]

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – 1993 [Italian voice of Ron Perlman]

Davy Crockett (TV) – 1994 [Italian voice of Sheriff Carson]

And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (TV) - 2003 [Italian voice of Alan Arkin

The Three Amigos – 2003 [Italian voice of Chevy Chase]

Deadwood (TV) – 2004 [Italian voice of Keith Carradine]

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford – 2007 [Italian voice of James

     Carville]

The Salvation – 2014 [Italian voice of Danny Keough]

 

RIP Carlin Glynn

 

Carlin Glynn, Tony Winner and Mother of Mary Stuart Masterson, Dies at 83

Variety

By McKinley Franklin

July 20, 2023

 

Carlin Glynn, Tony-winning star of “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” and mother of Mary Stuart Masterson, died after a bout of dementia and cancer on July 13. She was 83.

Glynn’s daughter, Mary Stuart Masterson, confirmed the news in an Instagram post.

“My mother, Carlin Glynn Masterson, passed away. I was with her. I will always be grateful for those last moments, no matter how hard,” Masterson wrote. “Death is like birth in the oddest way. From my first breath to her last. This thread is as fragile as it is strong. She was the most graceful clumsy person you would ever meet. Strong, smart, silly, intuitive, kind, generous, passionate and a deep listener. She was devoted to my father and to the enormous circle of students and collaborators who were considered her chosen family.”

Glynn was an accomplished actor and singer, earning a Tony award in 1979 for her Broadway debut in the original production of “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” Glynn worked on the production alongside her husband, Peter Masterson, who later adapted the show into the 1982 film of the same name, starring Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton.

Glynn’s first on-screen role was in the 1975 film “Three Days of the Condor,” in which she portrayed Mae Barber. In 1984, she played the mother of Molly Ringwald’s character in John Hughes’ “Sixteen Candles.” She portrayed Meg Tresch in the 1987 White House sitcom “Mr. President” and was featured in other television series including “A Woman Named Jackie,” “Strange Luck” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” Glynn’s other credits include “Resurrection,” “Continental Divide,” “The Trip to Bountiful” and “The Exonerated.”

Glynn was married to Peter Masterson from 1960 until Masterson’s death in 2018. She is survived by her children, Mary Stuart, Alexandra and Peter Masterson.

GLYNN, Carlin (Carlin Elizabeth Glynn)

Born: 2/19/1940, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.

Died: 7/13/2023, New York, U.S.A.

 

Carlin Glynn’s westerns – actress:

Blood Red – 1989 (Miss Jeffreys)

Convicts – 1991 (Asa)