Obituaries

I've been following Black's official Facebook page for some time and she'd been battling cancer pretty hard. Apparently she was told months ago she'd be in dead in 24 hours, but she was tougher. RIP.

Lee Thompson Young, most recently on Rizzoli and Isles, committed suicide today at the age of 29

Never watched the show, but was impressed he was still doing pretty decent in the business. You never heard much bad about him compared to other child stars who were in the news constantly for drugs, crime, etc.. Such a shame that he took his own life.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/08/19/famous-jett-jackson-smallville-alum-lee-thompson-young-dies-at-29?abthid=521272db49f6635a55000017

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Ted Post, director of Magnum Force, dies aged 95


Ted Post, the veteran US film and TV director who worked with Clint Eastwood on Hang 'Em High and Magnum Force, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 95.

Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1918, he first directed Eastwood in 24 episodes of his 1960s western series Rawhide.

The actor insisted Post direct his 1968 western Hang 'Em High but reportedly fell out with him on Magnum Force, the second film in the Dirty Harry series.

Post's other directing credits include 1970's Beneath the Planet of the Apes.

He also worked on the 1980 pilot episode of long-running police series Cagney and Lacey, in which Loretta Swit played the Christine Cagney role subsequently taken on by Sharon Gless.

Post would later blame Eastwood for the decline of his career, accusing the actor of claiming to have had directed more of Magnum Force than he did.

"I believe that Clint became afflicted with a touch of megalomania," he told one interviewer. "Clint's greed and ego began to affect his sensitivity and judgment."

In 1996, Post formed Pro Bono Productions, a non-profit corporation intended to showcase the skills of older members of the Hollywood community.

Eastwood publicly endorsed the initiative, along with Jack Lemmon, Karl Malden, Gregory Peck and others.

The director's final film was 4 Faces, a low-budget title released in 1999.

Post died at the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica on Tuesday and is survived by his wife Thelma, two children and four grandchildren.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/star-wars-cinematographer-gilbert-taylor-dies-613654

Gilbert Taylor, the great British cinematographer on STAR WARS, REPULSION, DR. STRANGELOVE, FRENZY, THE OMEN, FLASH GORDON and others has died.

Another legend lost. RIP.

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Ed Lauter, Actor With a Familiar Face, Dies at 74

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


Ed Lauter, a character actor whose long, angular face and stern bearing in scores of roles made him an instantly recognizable figure in movies and on television for five decades, died on Wednesday at his home in West Hollywood, Calif. He was 74.

The cause was mesothelioma, a form of cancer most commonly caused by asbestos exposure, his publicist, Edward Lozzi, said.

Menacing characters were his forte. He was the brutal prison guard and Burt Reynolds’s nemesis in the 1974 comedy-drama “The Longest Yard” and the sleazy gas station attendant in Alfred Hitchcock’s last film, “Family Plot” (1976). In “Death Wish 3” (1985), he was the violent police officer who teamed up with Charles Bronson’s vigilante to rid New York City’s streets of criminals by killing them.

More recently he was the butler to the ingénue played by Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist,” which won the Oscar for best film in 2012.

His numerous other movies included Oliver Stone’s “Born on the Fourth of July,” with Tom Cruise; “The New Centurions,” with George C. Scott; and the comedies “My Blue Heaven,” “Revenge of the Nerds II” and “Not Another Teen Movie.” His television credits included “The Office,” “ER,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “The Rockford Files.”

Mr. Lauter described himself in a 2010 interview with Cinema Shock magazine as a “turn“ actor, someone who shows up in a film and turns the plot in a different direction.

He said that many of the characters he played were inspired by people he had grown up observing in Long Beach, N.Y., where he was born Edward Matthew Lauter II on Oct. 30, 1938.

He began his career doing comedy on and around Long Island. After serving in the Army, he appeared on Broadway in “The Great White Hope,” with James Earl Jones.

Mr. Lauter continued to work until a few months ago. He was in “Trouble With the Curve,” with Clint Eastwood, last year, and had roles in films still to be released. The last film he completed is a remake of the 1976 horror movie “The Town That Dreaded Sundown,” scheduled for a 2014 release.

Survivors include his wife, Mia; two daughters, Emma and Ameka Lauter; two sons, Ben and Anton; and two sisters, Sally Traube and Elizabeth Lauter.

Mr. Lauter said he was frequently recognized in public but added, “Sometimes people don’t know my name.”

“They’ll say, ‘Oh, yeah! There’s that guy! You were in ... you were in ... ’ ”


Daniel E. Slotnik contributed reporting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/movies/ed-lauter-actor-with-a-familiar-face-dies-at-74.html?_r=0

one of those last folk from the golden era of British comedy.

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Graham Stark, Pink Panther actor, dies aged 91


British comic actor Graham Stark, best known for his recurring roles opposite Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther films, has died aged 91.

The actor died in London on Tuesday after recently suffering a stroke.

Roles in Alfie and James Bond spoof Casino Royale were among his more than 100 screen credits.

It was his friendship with Sellers that secured his roles in the Pink Panther series, beginning with 1964 film A Shot in the Dark.

He played Inspector Clouseau's stone-faced assistant, Hercule Lajoy, a role he reprised in 1982's Trail of the Pink Panther. The part saw him say little more than "Oui, monsieur" to Clouseau's orders.

He later starred as Dr Auguste Balls in Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978) and Son of the Pink Panther (1993).

He memorably also appeared in 1976's The Pink Panther Strikes Again, playing a German hotel clerk in a scene where Clouseau is bitten by a dog.

"I thought you said your dog did not bite?" says Clouseau, to which Stark replies: "That is not my dog."

Stark, who was born in Wallesey, Merseyside, made his professional debut at the Lyceum theatre in London in a pantomime aged 13.

Graham Stark landed his own BBC sketch show in 1964
After studying at Rada he volunteered for the RAF. During the war years he entertained the troops around the world with fellow airmen and future stars Sellers, Tony Hancock and Dick Emery.

He went on to star in numerous comedy TV shows, including The Idiot Weekly, A Show Called Fred and Benny Hill, before landing his own BBC sketch series, The Graham Stark Show, in 1964.

Other films in which he appeared include Victor Victoria, Superman III and Blind Date.

He also directed two films: the 1970 short Simon Simon and the 1971 comedy The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins.

Stark was a keen photographer and had exhibited his work - mainly images of his acting colleagues and friends - around the world. His autobiography, Stark Naked, was published in 2003.

He is survived by his wife, the actress Audrey Nicholson, and three children.

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Professionals star Lewis Collins


The Professionals star Lewis Collins has died aged 67, his agent has said.

The actor, who played Bodie in the cult 1970s TV series, alongside Martin Shaw, died in Los Angeles after a five-year struggle with cancer.

His agent said: "He died peacefully at his LA home surrounded by his family. Privacy is asked for at this very sad time."

The Professionals was based around the adventures of a fictional crime fighting unit called CI5.

The ITV show became huge hit in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Collins's other notable roles included SAS captain Peter Skellen in 1982's Who Dares Wins.

R.I.P. indeed, another from a cherished piece of childhood entertainment gone.

Paul Walker has died.

http://www.tmz.com/2013/11/30/paul-walker-dead-dies-car-accident-fatal-fire-crash/

Armond White will be devastated. RIP.

Way too young. RIP

Can't believe Paul died in a crash today. Fast & Furious fame, and damn good looking...

Just breaking on the BBC that Peter O'Toole has died. Another of the greats. RIP

Great legacy he left behind. I haven't seen too many movies with him, but I did catch LAWRENCE OF ARABIA in theaters last year and that was a great experience. He will be missed.

RIP Peter O'Toole.

Sad news. Didn't know he was failing, health-wise. Although he was up there, this is still a great loss.

Here's a hilarious interview with him on Letterman, in which he jokes a bit about his epitaph:


Seemed like a class act.

He was one of the greats in every way. He was one of those featured alongside Burton, Reed and Richard Harris in Hellraisers. If half of what they all did was true in that book was true than they and indeed he stand tall in my book. Venus is a favourite alongside Arabia (for one, he has great chemistry with Leslie Phillips), his brief role in Bright Young Things also.

Wide range of films under his belt. Perhaps the greatest sign of his immense talent was being able to flip from epic roles to fun roles, like going from LAWRENCE to MR. CHIPS.

I'll be sure to have a drink and a cigarette this evening, to Mr. O'Toole.

This day just sucks.  

Joan Fontaine: 1917-2013

R.I.P. Peter O'Toole and Joan Fontaine

It does indeed. The BBC article quotes her about her sister Olivia de Havilland, being the first to win the Oscar, to marry and she says "If I die first she'll probably be livid." And she has.
I do believe the first film I saw her in, of all things, was Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

RIP.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/composer-wojciech-kilar-dies-at-667854

Composer Wojciech Kilar Dies at 81

Alexandra Bastedo: The Champions actress dies aged 67

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Actress Alexandra Bastedo, best known for her role in the 1960s television sci-fi series The Champions, has died aged 67 following a long illness.

Bastedo, who had cancer, also starred in Absolutely Fabulous, Boon and The Agatha Christie Hour.

In later life, animal rights supporter Bastedo set up the ABC Animal Sanctuary near Pulborough, West Sussex, which announced her death.

The sanctuary said the actress would be "sadly missed" by all who knew her.

The charity said on Twitter: "It is with great sadness that we announce that Alexandra Bastedo passed away this Sunday afternoon after a long illness aged 67.

"She will be sadly missed by all those who knew and worked with her, and by all the volunteers at the ABC Animal Sanctuary."

Bastedo was married to theatre producer and director Patrick Garland from 1980 until his death from an illness in April last year aged 78.

So sad to hear that. Alexandra Bastedo was such a beautiful actress.

Carruthers wrote:

So sad to hear that. Alexandra Bastedo was such a beautiful actress.

Indeed very sad news.