RIP Dinny Powell

 

Stunt expert Jon Auty remembers Dinny Powell (1932-2023)

James Bond 007

By Jon Auty

6/9/2023

 

Back in the early days of what we now call The British Stunt Register, there were a bunch of men who took on the worlds action in Film and on Television.

As young men, Dinny Powell and his brother Nosher Powell were very handy in the boxing ring. So good, that they had genuine chances at the big prizes including a champions belt.

The fight game gave them both a reputation as solid, quality opponents. Dinny and Nosher later discovered their talents as sparring partners for travelling international boxing names coming to the UK for a shot at a title. Henry Cooper was a regular as was Muhammed Ali.

As the Film and TV business started to flourish in the late fifties and early sixties Dinny and Nosher found themselves in demand. The Powell family are from solid stock. Both Nosher and Dinny are imposing characters and were often cast as heavies in TV series like The Avengers, The Saint and Danger Man. These early performances gave them Equity union status and the doors were open for the future.

They also had the benefit of horsemanship on their side. Firstly, they were in westerns like You Can’t Win Em All with Tony Curtis and Charles Bronson, and then the world of jousting came calling. The thing with being a fine horseman who is a film and television stuntman, is you don’t have opportunity to use this ability all the time. When the film business is busy a stuntman will spend a great deal of time on one or more productions over a period of months or years, but when its slow you need to have something fall back on.

A jousting troupe was set up by fellow stuntman Max Diamond which employed the services of everyone who could ride. They not only got to create and perform great sword fights and fall off horses, but they also got to hang out with their mates. Tours of the US and Australia became not only a great adventure, but was also a sort of, promotional exercise for the UK stuntmen.

By this time Dinny was working on many different productions and was being singled out as an actor, or some note. Often when dialogue is optioned, you’ll find quite a few of the stuntmen walking very slowly backwards not wishing to be ‘that guy’. Dinny was more than happy and subsequently got himself reoccurring roles in shows. Many will remember him as the guy in Superman II, who is thrown through the wall by General Zod after he threatened Ursa. The fall was filmed, very cleverly, on a vertical set, under the watchful eye of stunt coordinator Paul Weston.

Even more memorable was his appearance as a bodyguard in the movie Revenge of the Pink Panther. Director Blake Edwards has a scene where actors Robert Loggia, Tony Beckley, Peter Sellers and Dinny Powell are standing sizing each other up in a dialogue free moment. Edwards wanted something to happen in the lift that would change the intensity of the scene. He decided to say the word “now’. But him saying that was causing everybody to crack up with laughter. He decided to replace the word with a noise. A raspberry was blown which just made things worse. Regarded by many as the funniest outtake ever captured on film, its had millions of views the world over, and ever since that moment of filming back in 1978 it continues to cause uproars of laughter.

With over 135 credits to his name Dinny was a remarkable man. His passing has brought out many wonderful memories from friends and colleagues. Through all these comments the one thing that is absolutely solid is his love of people. Always a happy guy who’s smile could melt the coldest of hearts.

“That is so very sad. My thoughts and condolences to all his family and friends. Such a wonderful character who enhanced the abilities of the stunt register. So lucky to have known this great man.” - Gillian Aldam

“A great loss to his family and all of us who have good fortune to have known and worked with him. He was a giant in our industry, both as stuntman and actor. For decades there wasn’t a tv series that he didn’t appear in, or film he add his powerful presence too. We will all have great memories of the fun times we spent in his company. It was an honour to have known you Sir. Rest well, Dinny.” - Paul Weston

“Such sad news. Dinny was a gentleman and a pleasure to be around. RIP” - Peter Pedrero

“That’s terribly sad news. Had some really good times with Dinny and some great stories. A lovely lovely man who I had the utmost respect for. My thoughts go out to Greg, Gary and all of Dinny’s family. RIP old friend.” - Steve Whyment

“So very sad news. Dinny was on the committee along with Nosher when I first joined the stunt register back in 1979. Worked with him many times over the years. A wonderful gentleman who will be missed by many. Condolences to all the Powell family.” - Terry Cade

“That’s such sad news. I loved Dinny and he’s cheeky laugh. Such a gentleman and stunt man. My love to the family. He will so be missed.” - Tina Maskell

“You would not want a better friend. RIP Dinny.” - Tony Smart

He is remembered by all who knew him and worked alongside him. Our thoughts are with his family members, in particular nephews Greg Powell and Gary Powell and great niece’s Tilly Zara and Talyn.

POWELL, Dinny (Dennis Powell) [7/27/1932 Camberwell, London, U.K. – 6/6/2023, London, England, U.K.] – stuntman, film actor, brother of stuntman, actor Nosher Powell (George Frederick Bernard Powell) ]1928-2013], uncle of assistant director, stuntman, actor Gary Powell [1963-    ].

For a Few Dollars More – 1965 [stunts]

Sky Bandits – 1986 [stunts]

The New Zorro (TV) – 1990

Red Dwarf: Gunmen of the Apocalypse (TV) – 1993 (Famine)

RIP Paul Geoffrey

 

Better Call Saul actor Paul Geoffrey tragically dies from cancer aged 68

An actor who starred in Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul, Paul Geoffrey, has died from cancer at the age of 68, with tributes flooding in for the star

Mirror

By Mollie Quirk

June 10, 2023

 

Better Call Saul actor Paul Geoffrey has tragically died from cancer, it has been revealed.

The 68-year-old actor passed away earlier this month according to an obituary published in the Santa Fe New Mexican, with it revealed that he passed away on seven days ago on June 3.

The obituary states: "Paul passed away from cancer on June 3 and is survived by his wife Sue Taylor and three children, Alex, Oliver, and Daisy."

Paul played the part of a tailor in the TV series Better Call Saul, with him seen fitting lead character Jimmy McGill, played by Bob Odenkirk, for a suit.

Although Paul was known for starring alongside Bob in the Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul, Paul's most popular acting credit was Excalibur, a 1981 fantasy film.

In the film he starred alongside the likes of Helen Mirren and Nicol Williamson, Patrick Stewart and Liam Neeson.

The actor's obituary also states that he was born and raised in England, "where he lived his dream of being an actor and was known for his portrayal of Percival in Excalibur".

It also touches on how he moved to Santa Fe in the early 1990s "where he and his wife created a world of love and care for their young family".

His obituary concluded: "He worked with Santa Fe Properties for many years and established himself as a genuine and kind community member.

"A thespian to the core, Paul continued to act for the remainder of his life.

"He loved French wine and food, had a stunning grasp of history, was a life-long Arsenal fan, and excelled at being the sweetest guy in the world."

As well as starring in Excalibur and Better Call Saul, he also starred in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Anna Karenina, Wuthering Heights, Poirot, and Inspector Morse.

His last reported role was in an episode of the Epix series Perpetual Grace in 2019.

GEOFFREY, Paul (Paul John Geoffrey)

Born: 2/12/1955, Surrey, England, U.K.

Died: 6/3/2023, Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A.

 

Paul Geoffrey’s western – actor:

The Staircase (TV) – 1998 (Samuels)

RIP Noreen Nash

 

Noreen Nash, Actress in ‘Giant’ and ‘The Southerner,’ Dies at 99

The onetime MGM contract player also starred in lots of 'B' movies, including 'The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold,' 'Assigned to Danger 'and 'Phantom From Space.'

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

June 8, 2023

 

Noreen Nash, a starlet of the 1940s and ’50s who appeared in such notable films as The Southerner, Giant and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold, has died. She was 99.

Nash died Tuesday of natural causes at her home in Beverly Hills, her oldest son, Lee Siegel Jr., told The Hollywood Reporter.

Nash worked on about two dozen features during her two-decade career, including several “B” pictures like Phantom From Space (1953), where she portrayed an abducted scientist in a movie shot at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.

The blue-eyed, dark-haired Nash also starred as the wife of an owner of a Palm Springs tennis club on the CBS summer replacement series The Charles Farrell Show — it stood in for I Love Lucy in 1956 — and appeared on episodes of Hopalong Cassidy, The Abbott and Costello Show, My Little Margie, Dragnet and 77 Sunset Strip.

Nash played the daughter of J. Carrol Naish’s character in Jean Renoir’s The Southerner (1945), starring Zachary Scott in a story about a struggling family of cotton farmers in 1940s Texas, and in Giant (1956), she was Lona Lane, the glamorous Hollywood star who is on hand for the opening of the Emperador Hotel.

“What I remember most is, by the time I got on that picture, director George Stevens and James Dean were at each other,” Nash recalled in an interview for the Western Clippings website. “Dean did his usual mumbling and Stevens kept saying, ‘This script cost a lot of money. I want to hear those words!’ George didn’t like James’ style of acting!”

Norabelle Jean Roth was born on April 4, 1924, in Wenatchee, Washington. Her mother, Gayle, was a teacher and her father, Albert, owned a Coca-Cola bottling plant. She was crowned an Apple Blossom Queen when she was 18, then signed with MGM after being noticed by Bob Hope’s agent at the Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood.

She took the stage name Noreen Roth and appeared in films including Girl Crazy (1943) with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland; Bathing Beauty (1944) with Esther Williams and Basil Rathbone; Mervyn LeRoy’s Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) with Spencer Tracy; and Mrs. Parkington (1944) with Greer Garson.

Her first big role came in The Southerners after she had left MGM, and working with Naish inspired her to change her stage name one more time, she said.

Nash then starred for such “Poverty Row” outfits as Producers Releasing Corp. and Eagle Lion in films including The Devil on Wheels (1947) alongside Darryl Hickman and Terry Moore, The Big Fix (1947), Assigned to Danger (1948), The Checkered Coat (1948) and Adventures of Casanova (1948).

She collaborated with director Lesley Selander on four Westerns: The Red Stallion (1947), Storm Over Wyoming (1950), Road Agent (1952) and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958), where her Frances Henderson kills a man with an ax.

She played the wife of Dick Shawn’s character in LeRoy’s Wake Me When It’s Over (1960) before leaving acting in 1962. She went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in history from UCLA in 1971 — the same year her youngest son, Robert, graduated from the school.

Nash published her first novel, the 16th century-set By Love Fulfilled, in 1980 and co-wrote 2015’s Titans of the Muses: When Henry Miller Met Jean Renoir.

She was married to Lee E. Siegel, the studio medical director at Fox from 1955-71 who was known as “Doctor to the Stars,” from 1942 until his 1990 death, and to Oscar-nominated actor James Whitmore from 2001 until his 2009 death.

In addition to her sons, survivors include her grandchildren, Sebastian, Dmitri, John and Cara, and four great-grandchildren.

NASH, Noreen (Norabelle Jean Roth)

Born: 4/4/1924, Wenatcheee, Washington, U.S.A.

Died: 6/6/2023, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.A.

 

Noreen Nash’s westerns – actress:

The Red stallion – 1947 (Ellen Reynolds)

Storm Over Wyoming – 1950 (Chris Marvin)

Road Agent – 1952 (Cora Drew)

Hopalong Cassidy (TV) – 1953 (Noreen Thomas)

The Lone Ranger (TV) – 1953 (Marianne Mornay)

Giant – 1956 (Lona Lane)

The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold – 1958 (Frances Henderson)

Yancy Derringer (TV) 1958, 1959 (Agatha Colton)

RIP George Riddle

 

George Riddle, Actor on ‘The Onion News Network’ and ‘The Fantasticks,’ Dies at 86

The onetime circus performer also appeared four times on Broadway and showed up in 'Arthur' and on 'The Sopranos.'

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

June 4, 2023

 

George Riddle, who portrayed the crusty gold prospector turned presidential candidate Joad Cressbeckler on the 2011 IFC comedy The Onion News Network and enjoyed a long run on the stage in The Fantasticks, has died. He was 86.

Riddle died Friday of duodenal cancer in North Plainfield, New Jersey, his longtime friend Christie Wagner told The Hollywood Reporter.

During his 65-year career, the colorful Riddle showed up in such films as Arthur (1981), The Innkeepers (2011) and The Kitchen (2019) and on episodes of shows including The Sopranos and Inside Amy Schumer.

The former circus performer also played Civil War General George Crook in the 1988 telefilm The Trial of Standing Bear, narrated by William Shatner.

On The Onion News Network, Riddle gained a legion of fans with his turn as the irascible, wildly opinionated Cressbeckler, whose predictions and political analysis were peppered with malapropisms and nonsequiturs.

Riddle logged more than 5,000 performances as The Old Actor in The Fantasticks, the longest-running off-Broadway play, starting with the musical’s debut at The Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village in 1960.

He portrayed the Major General in the Broadway revival of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, which debuted at the Uris Theatre in 1981, and he joined The Will Rogers Follies as Clem Rogers in 1992 for a three-year tour around the country, earning a Barrymore Award nomination when the musical stopped over in Philadelphia.

He also appeared on Broadway in Anything Goes in 1988-89 and Stage Door Charley in 1995.

Born on May 21, 1937, in Auburn, Indiana, Riddle — who said he was a descendant of the Mayflower settlers — started out in the circus, but after a fall from the high wire, he turned to a safer pursuit: acting.

He made his acting debut at the Fred Miller Theatre in Milwaukee in 1956 and his onscreen debut in the Marshall Brickman film Simon (1980), starring Alan Arkin. His final career credit came for a turn on the Apple TV+ series Little Voice in 2020.

 A member of the Magic Castle in Hollywood, Riddle amassed a collection of theater and film memorabilia in his East Village penthouse apartment and loved cars and motorcycles. His main mode of transportation around New York for years was his 1941 Harley-Davidson.

He and Joan Crawford’s daughter Christina (the author of Mommie Dearest) lived together for several years, Wagner noted.

Survivors include his son, René; brother Robert; sister Mary Ellen; and six grandchildren.

RIDDLE, George

Born: 5/21/1937, Auburn, Indiana, U.S.A.

Died: 6/12/2023, North Plainfield, New Jersey, U.S.A.

 

George Riddle’s westerns – actor:

The Trial of Standing Bear (TV) – 1988 (General George Crook)

Whiskey ‘n Ditch – 2012 (Reno)

RIP Dora María

 

Dora María, the Golden Chapour, dies

She was born in Tamulté de las Barracas and from a very young age began to win singing competitions

XEVT 104.1 FM

By Francisco Bautista Villegas

June 4, 2023

 

The singer Dora María Pérez Vidal, known simply as Dora María, died, although so far the causes of her death are unknown.

The singer was 89 years old at the time of her death.

He was born in Tamulté de las Barracas and from a very young age began to win singing competitions.

She was the first Mexican singer to perform in Las Vegas as well as in the famous "Lido" in Paris.

Currently the Tabasco Park bears her name, after she was honored in life in the six-year term of former governor Arturo Núñez.

Throughout her career she performed songs such as: "El pochitoque jahuactero", "Mis Blancas Mariposas" and Amanecer de mi Tierra.

In life she had the opportunity to sing with the singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel and appear in the program "Siempre en Domingo" with Raúl Velasco.

MARIA, Dora (Dora María Pérez Vidal)

Born: 8/30/1933, Tamulté de las Barrancas, Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico

Died: 6/4/2023, Tamulté de las Barrancas, Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico

 

Dora María’s westerns – actress:

Luciano Romero - 1960 (singer)

La máscara roja - 1962 (singer)

RIP Franky J. Cuadrrón

Farewell to Doc Franky, a much-loved face in the countryman of the Almeria western

Film extra, lover of the Western genre and a regular presence in the towns of Tabernas

La Voz de Almeria

By Evarista Martinez

June 2, 2023

 

Mourning among the many fans of the western in Almeria for the loss of Doc Franky, extra, passionate about the genre of the West and a very beloved face in Tabernas, where it was usual to see him in the towns of the West and participating in recreations and events such as the Almeria Western Film Festival (AWFF).

His stage name was Franky J. Cuadrrón, although he responded to the nickname of Doc Franky because he always used to dress like a doctor of the old West: mushroom hat, briefcase, jacket and vest, pocket watch and small round glasses under which a tender look appeared.

The AWFF itself echoed this Friday on its Facebook profile the sad news: "Franky J. Cuadrrón, film extra, lover of western, a stalwart of our festival. You will always be with us! We convey our condolences to his family and friends, especially to the western associations of Almeria."

One of these groups, Almería Western Club, created by the film researcher José Enrique Martínez Moya, also conveyed his condolences to the family and expressed his pain for the loss of one of his most veteran partners: "The world of Almeria western loses a great person and passionate about this hobby," they have published in networks.

Doc Franky's universe revolved around the western. Hence, it was a recurring presence in shorts and films shot under the sky of Tabernas by fans of cowboy stories, such as 'Sombra. Death comes at dawn', filmed at Oasys-MiniHollywood, 'The Devil's March', a production by Martínez Moya that had to stop due to the pandemic, and 'A bastard, a city and the dead' and 'A man, a city and a Hail Mary', both by Dick Roche.

"It was a pleasure to meet you and work with you in this hobby and love for this genre that today is in mourning," said Manuel Olaya, who has filmed in short Almeria landscapes such as 'Two bullets for the devil', 'Misfortune' and 'Arizona 1878'.

Those who knew him say that cinema was his passion. An archaeologist by profession and reserved, he was a great lover of animals: he had a cat named Django and a mare that he used to ride to relieve his back problems. "He was a very sensitive man, he loved to kick the desert and was a born collaborator with any initiative that had to do with cinema, especially with western," says Martínez Moya.

That close and committed character is something that comes out in the different testimonies collected: his friends describe him as a good person, always willing to help in whatever they need from him, as 'El Indaliano' points out.

CUADRRON, Franky J.

Born: 19??, Spain

Died: 6/1/2023, Almeria, Spain

 

Franky J. Cuadrrón’s westerns – actor:

Sombra (La muerte llega al amanecer) – 2014 (doctor)

Old Wolves of Autumn – 2016 (doctor)

Botas de Sangre – 2017 [as Frank Cuadrron]

A Man, a City and a Hail Mary – 2019 

A Bastard, a City and the Dead – 2019 (The Major)

Recompensa - 2022 -

 

RIP Joe Grayton

 

Joe Gayton Dies: ‘Hell On Wheels’ Co-Creator & ‘Faster’ Writer Was 66

DEADLINE

By Nellie Andreeva

June 2, 2023

 

Joe Gayton, a film and television writer-producer who co-created and executive produced the hit AMC series Hell on Wheels, died May 14 after a four-year battle with prostate cancer. He was 66.

Gayton got off to a fast start in Hollywood with Uncommon Valor, which he wrote when he was 23. The script was made into a movie starring Gene Hackman. Gayton also co-wrote with Lewis Colick the 1996 action comedy feature Bulletproof starring Damon Wayans and Adam Sandler.

For most of his career, Gayton collaborated with his brother, fellow writer-producer Tony Gayton. The duo created and executive produced the popular Western drama series Hell on Wheels, which ran on AMC for five seasons.

The Gaytons also developed together a number of TV projects, with several, including Southern Comfort for Fox and The Novice for USA, going to pilot. They also co-wrote the 2010 feature Faster, starring Dwayne Johnson.

“Joe was one of a kind. He was passionate, creative, loud, boisterous, argumentative, unfiltered, soft-hearted, hilarious, and terrible at the politics of this cutthroat business,” Tony Gayton said. “He was a big brother, mentor, writing partner, and best friend to me. Our hearts are shattered at his passing and we will miss him forever.”

Tony Gayton revealed that his brother was working on a new TV series before he died.

“This sums up Joe’s passion for this work: He loved writing and creating so much that he wrote three seasons of a half-hour comedy/drama on spec,” Tony Gayton said. “He came very close to setting it up after having written two seasons worth of material. When he failed to set it up, what did he do? He wrote another season. And he never gave up on it till the day he died.”

Joe Gayton is survived by his wife, Jen Winter, his stepdaughter Zoë Winter, his brother Tony Gayton, and his nieces and nephews, Sophia, Ella, and Luke Gayton.

GAYTON, Joe (Joseph Grayton)

Born: 1957, Merritt Island, Florida, U.S.A.

Died: 5/14/2023, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

 

Joe Gayton’s western – producer, writer:

Hell on Wheels (TV) – 2011-2016