RIP Dick Jones

July 8, 2014, 12:52 pm

RIP Dick Jones

CNN
By Alan Duke
July 8, 2014

The actor who gave voice to Pinocchio in Walt Disney's 1940 animation movie, died at his home Monday night, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said Tuesday.

Richard Percy Jones, known in film and television as Dick Jones, was 87.

The cause of death has not yet been determined, according to Fred Corral of the coroner's office. A daughter found Jones on a bathroom floor of his Northridge, California, home, Corral said.

Disney Studios named Jones a "Disney Legend" in 2000 in recognition of his work on the iconic film.

"At the time, 'Pinocchio' was just a job," Jones said at the time of induction. "Who knew it would turn out to be the classic that it is today? I count my lucky stars that I had a part in it."

In addition to voicing the script, Jones also wore a puppet costume and acted out scenes to help Disney animators draw the cartoon.

Born in McKinney, Texas, on February 25, 1927, his acting career started when he was just 3 years old. Cowboy film legend Hoot Gibson discovered the child while appearing in a rodeo in Jones' hometown, according to his Disney biography.

"Hoot told my mother I ought to be in pictures and sponsored our trip to Hollywood," Jones said.

Jones acted in Jimmy Stewart's "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "Destry Rides Again" during the same 19 months he was working on Pinocchio, according to his bio.

He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944, but returned to Hollywood after the second world war.

Jones acted in Errol Flynn's "Rocky Mountain" and several other movies before the start of his television acting career in 1949.

He used his skills as a horseman to work as a stuntman for Gene Autry's Flying A Productions.

Jones played the sidekick in "The Range Rider" television series before getting his own western series, "Buffalo Bill, Jr." in the 1950s.

His 200 TV appearances include guest star roles in "Gunsmoke,""Annie Oakley" and "The Lone Ranger."

When he left acting to start a career in real estate in 1959, he had appeared in nearly 100 movies, according to Disney.

JONES, Dick (Richard Percy Jones)

Born: 2/25/1927, McKinney, Texas, U.S.A.

Died: 7/7/2014, Northridge, California, U.S.A.

Dick Jones’ westerns – stuntman, actor:

Westward Ho – 1935 (Jim Wyatt as a child)

The Hawk – 1935 (Dickie Thomas)

The Pecos Kid – 1935 (Donald Pecos as a Boy)

Moonlight on the Prairie – 1935 (Dickie Roberts)

Wild Horse Roundup – 1936 (Dickie Williams)

Sutter’s Gold – 1936 (2ns newsboy)

Daniel Boone – 1936 (Master Jerry Randolph)

Smoke Tree Ranger – 1937 (Teddy Page)

Land Beyond the Law – 1937 (Bobby Skinner)

Hollywood Round-up – 1937 (Dickie Stevens)

Renfrew of the Royal Mounted – 1937 (Tommy MacDonald)

Land of Fighting Men – 1938 (Jimmy Mitchell)

Border Wolves – 1938 (Jimmie Benton)

The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok – 1938 (Buddy)

The Frontiersman – 1938 (Artie Peters)

Destry Rides Again – 1939 (Claggett boy)

The Singing Dude – 1940 (Bud)

Hi-Yo Silver – 1940 (the boy)

Brigham Young – 1940 (Henry Kent)

Virginian City – 1940 (Cobby)

The Outlaw – 1943 (boy)

Strawberry Roan – 1948 (Joe Bailey)

Sons of New Mexico – 1949 (Randy Pryor)

The Lone Ranger (TV) – 1949, 1950 (Jim Patrick, Jim Douglas)

Redwood Forest Trail – 1950 (Mighty Mike)

Rocky Mountain – 1950 (Jim (Buck) Wheat)

The Gene Autry Show (TV) – 1950, 1951 1952, 1954 (Billy Walker, Horace, Tim Morgan, Randy Baker, Tom Jackson,

Fort Worth – 1951 (Luther Wicks)

The Range Rider (TV) – 1951-1953 (Dick West)

Wagon Train – 1952 (Dave Weldon, aka The Apache Kid)

The Old West – 1952 (Pinto) [stunts]

Last of the Pony Riders – 1953 (Johnny Blair)

Annie Oakley (TV) – 1954, 1955 (Corporal Sam, Bob Neil, Steve Donavan, Clell Morgan, Bob Neill)

Buffalo Bill Jr. (TV) 1955-1956 (Buffalo Bill, Jr.)

The Wild Dakotas – 1956 (Mike McGeehee)

Stranger at My Door – 1956 [stunts]

The Gray Ghost (TV) – 1957 (Underwood)

Pony Express (TV) – 1960 (Bill)

Wagon Train (TV) – 1962 (John Hunter)

The Night Rider (TV) – 1962 (Billy Joe) [stunts]

The Devil’s Bedroom – 1964 (Norm)

Requiem for a Gunfighter – 1964 (Cliff Fletcher)

When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion – 1979 [himself]

Gene Autry, Melody of the West - 1994 [himself]

Gene Autry: White Hat, Silver Screen (TV) – 2007 [himself]

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RIP Joe Alfasa

July 9, 2014, 9:20 am

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RIP Joe Alfasa

Palm Beach Post

By Staff

March 27, 2014

ALFASA, JosephAge 99, of Boca Raton, passed away March 15, 2014. Avatar Cremation Service & Crematory, Boca Raton, Florida.

ALFASA, Joe (Joseph Alfasa)

Born: 12/13/2014, New York City, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 3/15/2014, Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.A.

Joe Alfasa’s westerns – actor:

Boss Nigger – 1975 (Pedro)

More Wild Wild West (TV) – 1980 (Italian Ambassador)

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RIP Rosemary Murphy

July 9, 2014, 4:30 pm

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Rosemary Murphy, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Actress, Dies at 89

The Hollywood Reporter

By Carmel Dagan

July 9, 2014

Rosemary Murphy, who appeared as the neighbor Maudie Atkinson in the classic 1962 film adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” starring Gregory Peck, died Saturday in New York City. She was 89 and had recently been diagnosed with esophageal cancer.

Murphy, who won her Emmy for portraying the mother of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1976 ABC miniseries Eleanor and Franklin, died Saturday at her home in New York City, her longtime agent, Alan Willig, told The Hollywood Reporter. She recently was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.

Murphy won an Emmy in 1976 for her work on the seminal miniseries “Eleanor and Franklin,” and was nominated the next year for her work on sequel “Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years.”

The actress had a long career on the stage and was Tony nominated for best actress in a play or best featured actress in a play three times: for “Period of Adjustment” in 1961, “Any Wednesday” in 1964 and “A Delicate Balance” in 1967.

In Fred Zinnemann’s 1977 film “Julia,” which won three Oscars and sported an all-star cast including Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave, Murphy was sixth billed, ahead of a young Meryl Streep.

The actress appeared in features including Woody Allen films “September” in 1987 and “Mighty Aphrodite” in 1995 and had appeared in a number of films in recent years: 2007′s “The Savages,” with Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman; 2008′s “Synecdoche, New York,” written and directed by Charlie Kaufman; 2009 horror film “After.Life,” starring Christina Ricci and Liam Neeson; and, finally, Galt Niederhoffer’s “The Romantics” (2010), in which she played Grandma Hayes.

Murphy was known for her work on soap operas, appearing on “All My Children” as Maureen Dalton Teller in 1977 and on “Another World” as Loretta Fowler in 1988. She was a series regular on brief NBC series “Lucas Tanner” in 1974-75.

Murphy’s other feature credits include “That Night!” in 1957; 1961′s “The Young Doctors”; “Any Wednesday,” with Jane Fonda Fonda and Jason Robards, in which she was fourth billed; “A Fan’s Notes,” rat-filled horror film “Ben” and horror pic “You’ll Like My Mother,” in which she was second billed after Patty Duke, al in 1972; 1973 hit “Walking Tall”; “Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies” and “40 Carats,” also in 1973; and 1980 horror film “The Attic.”

Murphy was born in Munich, the daughter of a U.S. diplomat. She attended Manhattanville College, studied acting with Sanford Meisner and made her feature debut in the 1949 German film “Der Ruf.”

She started her American TV career in the early 1950s with small roles on “Lux Video Theatre” and “Robert Montgomery Presents.” Later she appeared on series including “Ben Casey,” “The Virginian,” “Cannon,” “Maude,” “Columbo,” “Magnum, P.I.,””Murder, She Wrote,” “Law & Order,” “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” and “Frasier.”

In addition to her Tony-nominated work, Murphy’s other Broadway credits include “Look Homeward Angel” in 1957, “The Ballad of the Sad Cafe” in 1963, “Coastal Disturbances” in 1987 and, finally, “Waiting in the Wings” in 1999.

MURPHY, Rosemary

Born: 1/3/1925, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Died: 7/5/2014, New York City, New York, U.S.A.

Rosemary Murphy’s westerns – actress:

Wide Country (TV) – 1962 (Sabina)

The Virginian (TV) – (Pearl Dodd Krause)

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (TV) – 1993 (Mrs. Bing)

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RIP Ken Thorne

July 10, 2014, 6:33 am

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Ken Thorne has passed away at age 90. The British composer scored numerous features and television movies and shows over a career spanning more than four decades, including the sequels Superman II and Superman III directed by Richard Lester and starring Christopher Reeve. He received an Academy Award for his adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s music for the 1966 film version of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He also was honored with an Emmy Award nomination for the original song For a Love Like You from the 1995 TV drama A Season of Hope. In addition, he was Grammy-nominated alongside John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney for his score for 1965′s Help!. Thorne’s other feature credits include the 1976 comedy The Ritz and the 1967 war comedy How I Won the War starring Michael Crawford & John Lennon, both for Richard Lester, 1968′s Inspector Clouseau starring Alan Arkin, 1985′s The Protector starring Jackie Chan and 1984′s Lassiter starring Tom Selleck. His last major scoring credit was for the 2007 television movie Marco Polo. Ken composed the scores to two westerns “A Talent for Loving” (1969), “Hannie Caulder” (1970) and the TV western “Love Comes Softly” (2003).

THORNE, Ken (Kenneth R. Thorne)

Born: 1/26/1924, East Dereham, Norfolk, England, U.K.

Died: 7/9/2014, West Hills, California, U.S.A.

Ken Thorne’s westerns – composer:

A Talent for Loving – 1969

Hannie Caulder – 1970

Love Comes Softly – 2003

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RIP Enzo Petito

July 11, 2014, 10:20 am

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Italian character actor Enzo Petito died in Rome, Italy on July 6, 2014. He was 103. Born Vincenzo Squatriti on February 19, 1911 in Naples Italy. A theatre actor under Eduardo De Filippo in the 1950s in the Teatro San Ferdinando of Naples, Petito played minor roles in some memorable Italian comedy movies in the 1950s and 1960s. Although never a leading actor, he made a number of small appearances as character actors alongside Italy's leading film stars in films throughout the early to mid-1960s and is arguably best known in world cinema for his role as the store keeper in the Sergio Leone classic Spaghetti Western film “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” in 1966. His roles ranged from storekeepers and cobblers to priests and homeless men.

PETITO, Enzo (Vincenzo Squatriti)

Born: 2/19/1911, Naples, Campania, Italy

Died: 7/6/2014, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Enzo Petito’s western – actor:

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – 1966 (Milton)

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RIP Ruby Dee

June 12, 2014, 10:42 am

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Screen, stage legend Ruby Dee dead at 91

CNN

By Alan Duke

June 12, 2014

Ruby Dee, the award-winning actress whose seven-decade career included triumphs on stage and screen, has died. She was 91.

Dee died peacefully at her New Rochelle, New York, home on Wednesday, according to her representative, Michael Livingston.

Dee -- often with her late husband, Ossie Davis -- was a formidable force in both the performing arts community and the civil rights movement. She was friends with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X and received the Frederick Douglass Award in 1970 from the National Urban League.

Davis preceded his wife in death in 2005.

Dee earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in "American Gangster" (2007). She also won an Emmy and Grammy for other work.

Broadway star Audra McDonald paid tribute to Dee when she accepted a Tony Award last Sunday, crediting Dee, Maya Angelou, Diahann Carroll and Billie Holiday for making her career possible. McDonald won a best actress Tony in 2004 for playing the same role Dee played on Broadway in 1959 and in the 1961 film version of "A Raisin in the Sun."

Her acting career started in New York in the 1940s, but it was her role in the 1950 movie "The Jackie Robinson Story" that first brought her national attention.

DEE, Ruby (Ruby Ann Wallace)

Born: 10/27/1922 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.

Died: 6/11/2014, New Rochelle, New York, U.S.A.

Ruby Dee’s western – actress:

Buck and the Preacher – 1972 (Ruth)

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RIP Robert F. Cawley

July 13, 2014, 7:57 am

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Robert Francis “Bob” Cawley filled many roles in life and as an actor.

Dallas Morning News

Joe Simnacher

July 10, 2014

He was a DeSoto police officer, an actor and a skater, who performed professionally on rollers and ice.

His appearances in commercials, movies and television included 100 episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger. In two 1987 episodes of the TV show Dallas, art imitated life, when Cawley played an ice-skating instructor at the Galleria.

He was also a force in helping others experience his passions of acting and skating.

Cawley, 85, died June 23 of natural causes at Red Oak Health & Rehabilitation Center.

Services will be at 11:15 a.m. Friday at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.

Cawley played many mostly uncredited roles, including trial spectators, jurors, drunks, cowboys and homeless men. He was a pageant judge in the 2000 movie, Miss Congeniality.

“He was a ham, he just really just enjoyed it,” said his wife, Sandra Cawley of Ovilla. “He was in with the stars, that was just his thing.”

Born in Carbondale, Pa., Cawley graduated from Edison High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he started entertaining as a member of the Park Circle Skating Club, where he won 10 national medals for artistic skating.

In 1946, he joined the Marines.

After completing his military service, Cawley toured Europe with Skating Vanities, a roller skating show. He later traded his rollers for blades to tour internationally with Sonja Henie’s ice revues.

Cawley settled in California, where he worked for American Airlines, before becoming a police officer in Atherton, Calif.

In 1976, he moved to North Texas, where he managed roller-skating rinks. In 1977, he joined the DeSoto Police Department, where he started PAL, the Police Athletic League program, working with underprivileged young people. He retired from the Police Department in 1984 and intensified his acting vocation.

In 1998, Cawley was a founding member of the DeSoto Arts Commission, where he was a commissioner for six years and a judge with the DeSoto Star Search.

“He was an outstanding citizen volunteer,” said Katy Jones, community relations manager for the commission. Cawley worked to promote the area as a film location and to help aspiring actors find opportunities.

“When there would be an open call for extras, he would always put that information word out,” Jones said. “And some people got to take advantage of that, which was kind of fun.”

In retirement, Cawley focused on acting.

“He worked into it gradually and got an agent and a coach,” his wife said. “They encouraged him to go further and got him jobs. He really enjoyed that.”

Cawley also started and was executive producer of Exposure, a monthly program to help aspiring performers at the Ozona Grill and Bar on Greenville Avenue.

“The audience is usually people who are in the biz or producers and gents looking for talent,” Cawley said in 2001. “It is the best networking in Dallas.”

Cawley’s last role was about two years ago as the real-life substitute drama teacher at Red Oak High School, helping students make an anti-substance abuse film, his wife said.

In addition to his wife, Cawley is survived by two daughters, Stacey Speegle of Ovilla and Kelly Haas of Midlothian; a son, Frank Cawley of Little Elm; eight grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Shriners Hospitals for Children.

CAWLEY, Robert F. (Robert Francis Cawley)

Born: 7/25/1928, Carbondale, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Died: 6/23/2014, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.

Robert F. Cawley’ westerns – actor:

Walker, Texas Ranger (TV) – 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001 (courtroom spectator, shopper, homeless man, trial attendee, court attendee)

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RIP Elaine Stritch

July 17, 2014, 11:21 am

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Elaine Stritch, Acerbic Tony and Emmy Winner, Dies at 89

Variety

By Staff

July 17, 2014

Actress Elaine Stritch, star of Broadway hits including “Elaine Stritch at Liberty” and “Show Boat,” who was nominated for multiple Tonys and Emmys, winning three of the latter, has died. She was 89.

Stritch, an atypical star of stage and screen known for her association with Stephen Sondheim, quickly gained a reputation for the worldly, acerbic wit that often defined her characters. In her one-woman show “Elaine Stritch at Liberty,” Stritch talked candidly about battling the bottle and her colorful, albeit destructive, love life. Her role as the drunk yet lucid Claire in “A Delicate Balance” earned her a 1996 Tony nomination for best actress. Roles in “Bus Stop,” “Sail Away” and “Company” snagged her three other noms while “Elaine Stritch at Liberty” won her the 2002 award for special theatrical event.

On television, Stritch was memorable late in her career for her recurring role on NBC’s “30 Rock” as the crusty, goofy mother to Alec Baldwin’s character, drawing five nominations for the role and winning in 2007. She was also impressive as a fierce but notably ethical defense attorney on two episodes of “Law & Order,” winning an Emmy for the role in 1993. A P.A. Pennebaker documentary of her “At Liberty” stage show won several Emmys in 2004, including for her the award for outstanding individual performance in a variety program.

Stritch did not restrict her candor to the stage, once telling Variety’s Army Archerd that she “flipped over Rock Hudson — and we all know what a bum decision that turned out to be,” referring to her failed romance with the closeted actor. These gritty, honest revelations contributed to the unique style Stritch brought to her work.

Born in Detroit, Stritch ironically attended finishing school before landing the abrasive, tough-as-nails roles for which she became known. She studied acting at the New School’s Dramatic Workshop with Marlon Brando and once said of performing: “There are a lot of things I do that I don’t want to, but I have to. It’s truly an emotional need for me to perform.” This necessity was reflected in her career, which spanned several decades and two oceans, leading her to stages in London’s West End and dozens of appearances on the small and silver screen.

On TV, she racked up credits in the episodic anthologies of the 1950s, appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” starred in a TV series version of “My Sister Eileen” in 1960-61, starred in the U.K. sitcom “Two’s Company” in the late ’70s and had a role on “The Ellen Burstyn Show” in 1986-87; she also recurred on “The Cosby Show.”

Film credits include the 1957 film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms,” Woody Allen’s 1987 film “September,” the Robin Williams comedy “Cadillac Man,” Allen’s “Small Time Crooks” and romancer “Autumn in New York.”

Stritch made her stage debut at New York’s New School in 1944. The actress understudied Ethel Merman for “Call Me Madam” while simultaneously appearing in the 1952 revival of “Pal Joey”; later she starred in the national tour of “Call Me Madam.”

Her professional relationship with Sondheim lasted decades. She made famous Sondheim’s sneeringly witty tune “The Ladies Who Lunch” in 1970’s “Company,” sang his enduring “I’m Still Here” in her 2002 solo show and performed in a 2010 revue of his tunes called “At Home at the Carlyle: Elaine Stritch Singin’ Sondheim…One Song at a Time.” The actress appeared in Garth Drabinsky’s smash hit “Show Boat” in 1994 and in Edward Albee’s play “A Delicate Balance” in 1996.

In 2010 Stritch replaced Angela Lansbury as Madame Armfeldt in “A Little Night Music” on Broadway.

The actress was profiled in the 2013 feature documentary “Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me” (photo above), directed by Chiemi Karasawa.

STRITCH, Elaine

Born: 2/2/1925, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.

Died: 7/17/2014, Birmingham, Michigan, U.S.A.

Elaine Stritch’s westerns – actress:

Three Violent People – 1956 (Ruby LaSalle)

Wagon Train (TV) – 1960 (Tracy Sadlers)

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RIP Tom Rolf

July 17, 2014, 2:21 pm

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Tom Rolf, Oscar-Winning Editor of ‘The Right Stuff,’ Dies at 82

Variety

By: Carmel Dagan

July 17, 2014

Tom Rolf, who shared a best editing Oscar for his work on 1983 astronaut epic “The Right Stuff” and also edited “Taxi Driver,” “New York, New York,” “Black Sunday,” “Heaven’s Gate,” “Nine ½ Weeks,” “Heat” and “The Horse Whisperer,” among many other films, has died. He was 82.

Rolf shared his 1984 Oscar for the monumental effort required to edit “The Right Stuff” with Glenn Farr, Lisa Fruchtman, Stephen A. Rotter and Douglas Stewart.

Also in 1984, Rolf won an Eddie from the American Cinema Editors for his work on “WarGames.”

He worked on a number of films for Martin Scorsese, even though that director is usually associated with the editor Thelma Schoonmaker.

Rolf had most recently worked on the critically lauded 2008 Russian film “Admiral,” directed by Andrey Kravchuk, and the TV series that subsequently grew out of the film.

He received a Career Achievement Award from the American Cinema Editors in 2003.

ROLF, Tom

Born: 12/31/1931, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Died: 6/14/2014

Tom Rolf’s westerns – film editor:

The Glory Guys – 1965

The Big Valley (TV) – 1965-1967

The Hunting Party – 1971

The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing – 1973

Heaven’s Gate – 1980

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RIP Jerry McNeeley

July 17, 2014, 5:48 pm

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Jerry McNeely, Creator of ‘Owen Marshall,’ Dies at 86

Variety

By Jon Burlingame

July 17, 2014

Jerry McNeely, Emmy-nominated television writer and creator of series including “Owen Marshall, Counelor at Law,” died Monday in Tarzana. He was 86 and had suffered from Parkinson’s Disease for several years.

McNeely was one of TV’s busiest writers in the 1960s and ’70s, penning multiple episodes of “Dr. Kildare,” “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” “Ironside,” “The Name of the Game” and “Marcus Welby, M.D.” He also created and wrote multiple episodes of the lawyer series “Owen Marshall,” the high-school-teacher series “Lucas Tanner” and the family drama “Three for the Road.”

In the 1980s, he developed and produced the medical series “Trauma Center” and produced the family drama “Our House.” He also wrote individual scripts for such popular series as “The Twilight Zone,” “Mr. Novak,” “The Virginian,” “The Streets of San Francisco” and “McMillan and Wife.”

McNeely received Emmy and Humanitas nominations for writing the 1977 TV movie “Something for Joey,” based on the true story of a Penn State football player and his younger brother, who had leukemia.

He also directed episodes of “Owen Marshall,” “Lucas Tanner” and “Paris.”

McNeely was born in Cape Girardeau, Mo. He received his B.A. from Southeast Missouri State College, then attended the University of Wisconsin, where he received an M.S. degree and – after Army service during the Korean War – a Ph.D. in speech.

He joined the University of Wisconsin speech faculty in 1956 and eventually received a full professorship. An avid musician, he produced and directed numerous plays and musicals with the Wisconsin players (and eventually wrote lyrics for songs in several of the TV shows he wrote).

McNeely wrote his first teleplay, “The Staring Match,” for “Studio One” in 1957, and won a contest with his script “The Joke and the Valley,” which “Hallmark Hall of Fame” produced in 1961. His later longform scripts included “The Critical List,” “Fighting Back,” “Tomorrow’s Child,” “Sin of Innocence” and “When You Remember Me.”

In an unusual situation, McNeely remained on the University of Wisconsin faculty throughout his prolific period of the 1960s, writing long distance and occasionally commuting. He finally resigned from the university and moved to California to pursue TV writing and producing in 1975.

Survivors include his wife Ellen Shenker McNeely; four children, Melissa, Betsy, Joel and Ian McNeely; and two grandchildren.

McNEELEY, Jerry

Born: 6/20/1928, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, U.S.A.

Date: 7/14/2014, Tarzana, California, U.S.A.

Jerry McNeeley’s western - screenwriter:

The Virginian (TV) – 1968

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RIP Treadwell Covington

July 17, 2014, 7:10 pm

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RIP Treadwell Covington

New York Times

By Staff

7/16/2014

Treadwell Downing Covington, of Southampton, LI died at home on July 9, 2014 on his 89th birthday. A partner in Total Television Productions, Inc., a member of ASCAP and the University Club in New York. Survived by two daughters, Caroline Armistead Gordon Covington and Coline Elizabeth Covington; as well as grandsons Justin and Charles Kesser. Interment at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, SC. A Memorial Service will be held in September at the Dune Church in Southampton. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to East End Hospice, PO Box 1048, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978.

COVINGTON, Treadwell (Treadwell Downing Covington)

Born: 7/9/1926, Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.A.

Died: 7/9/2014, Southhampton, Long Island, New York, U.S.A.

Treadwell Covington’s western – executive producer:

Go Go Gophers (TV) - 1968

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RIP Dietmar Schönherr

July 18, 2014, 7:46 am

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Actor, presenter and author Dietmar Schönherr has died during the night Friday July 18th at the age of 88 on the Spanish island of Ibiza, where he had lived during the last few years.

Known to a wide audience of Austrians from 1966 for his starring role in the first and to date the most popular German science fiction television series "Space Patrol - the Fantastic Adventures of the Spaceship Orion". Later Schönherr hosted, among others, with his wife Vivi Bach the TV show "Make a Wish" since 1973, the first talk show on German television "The later the evening." He appeared in over 100 movies and hundreds of television productions, countless theaters, and worked as a voice actor, writer and director.

Even more important than his artistic work Schönherr was his social commitment. After the early 1980s, he supported the German peace movement, he was active mainly in Nicaragua. In the Central American country, which is among the poorest in the world, he built together with the poet Ernesto Cardenal in the city of Granada, the "Casa de los Tres Mundos", a cultural center for children and adolescents.

The house is one of the best-known institutions of its kind in Central America and is considered a model project for cultural development cooperation. To finance the project, Schoenherr created a Foundation in1994 called the club Pan y Arte. Its name ("Bread and Art") goes back to a quote of Schönherrs: "Bread and art are the main food of man. We take care of both."

When the club took over and initiated Pan y Arte it helped many other projects in Nicaragua. After the devastating Hurricane Mitch in autumn 1998 Schönherr formulated a flash appeal in the weekly newspaper "Die Zeit". Using the then incoming donations, the club was able to build the new village of Los Ángeles in Malacatoya and thus gave more than 1,300 people a roof over their head.

SCHONHERR, Dietmar (Dietmar Otto von Schönleiten)

Born: 5/17/1926, Innsbruck, Austria

Died: 7/18/2014, Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain

Dietmar Schönleiten’s westerns – voice actor:

Shatterhand – 1963 [German voice of Gustavo Rojo]

Black Eagle of Santa Fe - 1965 [German voice of Joachim Hansen]

By Way of the Stars (TV) - 1992 (Friedrich Brunneck)

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RIP Fred Brookfield

July 18, 2014, 1:52 pm

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RIP Fred Brookfield

Los Angeles Daily News

By Staff

March 9, 2014

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Fred moved to the United States in 1952, where he worked for 27 years as a Stuntman until an injury in 1979 forced him to change careers.

He is preceded in death by his parents; and two brothers, James and George; and is survived by his wife of 53 years, Sarah; daughters, Stephanie (Robert) Schwinn, and Margaret Brookfield; grandchildren, Nicholas, Dylan, Shelby, Amber (Steve), and Brittnie; great grandchildren, Austen, Samantha and Colton; and several nieces and nephews.

BROOKFIELD, Fred

Born: 6/11/1942, Winnipag, Manitoba, Canada

Died: January 25, 2014, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Fred Brookfield’s westerns – stuntman, actor:

The Adventures of Spin and Marty (TV) – 1955 [stunts]

The Cowboys – 1972 (rustler) [stunts]

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean – 1975 (outlaw) [stunts]

Ulzana’s Raid – 1972 (trooper) [stunts]

Hec Ramsey (TV) – 1973 (Jamie Redsmith)

Gone With the West – 1975 (Mimmo’s man)

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RIP Tap Canutt

July 19, 2014, 9:53 am

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Actor and stuntman Tap Canutt has died. Tap born Edward Clay Canutt was the son of legendary stuntman Yakima Canutt and brother of stuntman Joe Canutt. The exact date of Tap’s passing is unknown but occurred either the end of May or early June 2014. Tap was last living in Santa Clarita, California.

Tap worked for different Western Productions from 'Only the Valiant' (1951) to the 'Wild Bunch' (1969) and he was there when epic movie Stars got into trouble. 'Ben Hur' (1959), 'Spartacus' (1960) or 'El Cid' (1961) were just a few.

Tap became part of Kit West’s stunt crew. He was, the stunt double for Stephen Boyd in 'Fall of the Roman Empire' (1963) and for the 'El Condor' (1969) production he was the Stunt Coordinator and directed different stunt scenes as Second Unit Director.

CANUTT, Tap (Edward Clay Canutt)

Born: 8/7/1932, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Died: 6/2?/2014, Santa Clarita, California, U.S.A.

Tap Canutt’s westerns – second unit director, stuntman, actor:

Only the Valiant – 1951 [stunts]

Hangman’s Knot – 1952 [stunts]

The Stranger Wore a Gun – 1953 (henchman) [stunts]

The Lawless Rider – 1954 (young marshal) [stunts]

The Last Command – 1955 [stunts]

Friendly Persuasion – 1956 [stunts]

Westward Ho the Wagons! – 1956 [stunts]

From Hell to Texas – 1958 [stunts]

Tumbleweed Ranger – 1959 [film never completed]

The Comancheros – 1961 [stunts]

McLintock! – 1963 [stunts]

Cat Ballou – 1965 [stunts]

Daniel Boone (TV) – 1967 (settler)

26 Men (TV) – 1959

The Outlaws Is Coming – 1965 [stunts]

Bandolero – 1968 [stunts]

El Condo – 1969 [second unit director, stunts]

The Good Guys and the Bad Guys – 1969 [stunts]

The Undefeated – 1969 [stunts]

The Wild Bunch – 1969 [stunts]

Chisum – 1970 [stunts]

A Man Called Horse – 1970 [stunts]

Rio Lobo – 1970 [stunts]

The Cowboys – 1972 (rustler) [stunts]

Joe Kidd – 1972 [stunts]

The Master Gunfighter – 1975 [stunts]

The Last Hard Men – 1976 [stunts]

The Mountain Men – 1980 [stunts]

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RIP Sky McCole Bartusiak

July 20, 2014, 7:15 am

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RIP Skye McCole Bartusiak

Skye McCole Bartusiak, who was best known for her role portraying Mel Gibson’s youngest daughter in The Patriot, died today at the age of 21. No cause of death was given. Bartusiak was a stage, screen and TV actress. She had a recurring role as Megan Matheson in the show 24 and did guest star appearances in CSI, Lost, Touched by An Angel and George Lopez television shows. She started acting in 1999 with the ABC mini-series Storm of the Century. When she was 8 years-old, she was in the movie Riding in Cars with Boys. She died in her Houston home this morning at 9AM. A family spokesperson called her “a brave and caring young woman” who “is deeply missed by her family and friends.” In addition, the young actress was in the movies Don’t Say A Word in 2001, and the Oscar nominated The Cider House Rules in 1999. She also was the only child on the frontier role in the Hallmark movie Love Comes Softly. In 2012, she starred in the feature Sick Boy; since then she had done a series of short films. On stage, she appeared in the play The Miracle Worker in 2003 with Hillary Swank. So young. Condolences to her family and friends.

BARTUSIAK, Skye McCole

Born: 9/28/1992, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

Died: 7/19/2014, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

Sky McCole Bartusiak's westerns - actress:

Beyond the Prairie, Part 2: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder (TV) - 2002 (Rose Wilder)

Love Comes Softly (TV) - 2003 (Missie Davis)

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RIP James Garner

July 20, 2014, 7:18 am

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Western: Movie, TV Legend James Garner Dies

Associated Press

By Lynn Elber

July 20, 2014

Actor James Garner, whose whimsical style in the 1950s TV Western "Maverick" led to a stellar career in TV and films such as "The Rockford Files" and his Oscar-nominated "Murphy's Romance," has died, police said. He was 86.

He was found dead of natural causes at his home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles Saturday evening, Los Angeles police officer Alonzo Iniquez said early Sunday.

Police responded to a call around 8 p.m. PDT and confirmed Garner's identity from family members, Iniquez told The Associated Press.

There was no immediate word on a more specific cause of death. Garner had suffered a stroke in May 2008, just weeks after his 80th birthday.

Although he was adept at drama and action, Garner was best known for his low-key, wisecracking style, especially with his hit TV series, "Maverick" and "The Rockford Files."

His quick-witted avoidance of conflict provided a refreshingly new take on the American hero, contrasting with the steely heroics of John Wayne and the fast trigger of Clint Eastwood.

Well into his 70s, the handsome Oklahoman remained active in both TV and film. In 2002, he was Sandra Bullock's father in the film "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." The following year, he joined the cast of "8 Simple Rules ... For Dating My Teenage Daughter," playing the grandfather on the sitcom after star John Ritter, who played the father, died during the show's second season.

When he received the Screen Actors Guild's lifetime achievement award in 2005, he quipped, "I'm not at all sure how I got here."

But in his 2011 memoir, "The Garner Files," he provided some amusing and enlightening clues, including his penchant for bluntly expressed opinions and a practice for decking people who said something nasty to his face — including an obnoxious fan and an abusive stepmother. They all deserved it, Garner declared in his book.

It was in 1957 when the ABC network, desperate to compete on ratings-rich Sunday night, scheduled "Maverick" against CBS's powerhouse "The Ed Sullivan Show" and NBC's "The Steve Allen Show."''Maverick" soon outpolled them both.

At a time when the networks were crowded with hard-eyed, traditional Western heroes, Bret Maverick provided a fresh breath of air. With his sardonic tone and his eagerness to talk his way out of a squabble rather than pull out his six-shooter, the con-artist Westerner seemed to scoff at the genre's values.

After a couple of years, Garner felt the series was losing its creative edge, and he found a legal loophole to escape his contract in 1960.

His first film after "Maverick" established him as a movie actor. It was "The Children's Hour," William Wyler's remake of Lillian Hellman's lesbian drama that co-starred Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine.

He followed in a successful comedy with Kim Novak, "Boys Night Out," and then fully established his box-office appeal with the 1963 blockbuster war drama "The Great Escape" and two smash

comedies with Doris Day — "The Thrill of It All" and "Move Over Darling."

GARNER, James (James Scott Baumgarner)

Born: 4/7/1928, Norman, Oklahoma, U.S.A.

Died: 7/19/2014, Brentwood, California, U.S.A.

James Garner’s westerns – actor:

Cheyenne (TV) – 1955, 1956 (Lieutenant Brad Forsythe, Lieutenant Lee Rogers, Bret, Willi Peake)

Zane Grey Theater (TV) – 1956 (Lieutenant Jim Collins)

Sugarfoot (TV) – 1957 (Bret Maverick)

Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend – 1957 (Sergeant John Maitland)

Maverick (TV) – 1957-1962 (Bret Maverick)

Alias Jesse James – 1959 [scenes deleted]

Duel at Diablo – 1966 (Jess Remsburg)

Hour of the Gun – 1967 (Wyatt Earp)

Support Your Local Sheriff! – 1969 (Jason McCullough)

A Man Called Sledge – 1970 (Luther Sledge)

Skin Game – 1971 (Quincy)

Support Your Local Gunfighter – 1971 (Latigo)

Nichols (TV) – 1971-1972 (Nichols)

One Little Indian – 1973 (Keyes)

The Castaway Cowboy – 1974 (Lincoln Costain)

The New Maverick (TV - 1978 (Bret Maverick)

Young Maverick (TV) – 1979-1980 (Bret Maverick)

Bret Maverick (TV) – 1981-1982 (Bret Maverick)

Sunset – 1988 (Wyatt Earp)

Maverick – 1994 (Marshal Zane Cooper)

Streets of Laredo (TV) – 1995 (Captain Woodrow Call)

Roughing It (TV) – 2002 (Samuel Clemens)

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RIP Álex Angulo

July 20, 2014, 2:07 pm

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RIP Alex Angulo

El Commercio

By Staff

July 20, 2014

Actor Álex Angulo has died in a traffic accident

The actor, known for his roles on television, had his car leave the road at the Rioja town of Fuenmayor.

The actor Álex Angulo died this afternoon in a road accident on AP-68 in the town of Fuenmayor. As reported by the Government Delegation in La Rioja, the accident occurred at five-thirty in the afternoon, at mile 114.3 of the highway, which corresponds to Fuenmayor, in regard to Logroño. In the State of La Rioja

The native of the town of Bilbao Erandio, the actor was 61. He was a very familiar face to both Spanish viewers for his roles on the small screen, and the mainstream for his role in 'Journalists'.

ANGULO, Álex (Alejandro Angulo León)

Born: 4/12/1953, Bilbao Erandio, Vizcaya, Spain

Died: 7/20/2014, Fuenmayor, La Rioja, Spain

Alex Angulo’s western – actor:

Limoncello – 2007 (Jackson)

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RIP Steve London

July 20, 2014, 5:24 pm

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TV and film actor Steve London died in Burbank, Calfiornia on June 6, 2014. He was 85.

Born Walter Lee Gragg in St Louis, Missouri, on March 9, 1929 London was a veteran of numerous Hollywood film and television roles, including parts on Daniel Boone, M Squad, Sky King, Lock Up, The Loretta Young Show, Sugarfoot, Mission Impossible, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Branded, and Mackenzie's Raiders. Film roles included Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966), I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958), Zero Hour! (1957), The Gun of Zangara (1960), and Alcatraz Express (1960), the latter two being 2-part episodes of The Untouchables that were re-edited into feature films for international distribution.

Several years after the cancellation of The Untouchables, London appeared in a special episode of The Lucy Show entitled "Lucy The Gun Moll", an Untouchables reunion of sorts, where he reprised his role as sidekick to Robert Stack. Actor Bruce Gordon who played Frank Nitti in the series, also appeared in this episode, and The Untouchables narrator Walter Winchell served as narrator for this episode.

After 1966, his acting career waned, he left Hollywood, finished law school, and began practicing law under his birth name. Many years later, London returned to acting, where he played roles in the Cartoon Network T.V. series Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, (2007), and the film Brothers War (2009).

LONDON, Steve (Walter Lee Gragg)

Born: 3/9/1929, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.

Died: 6/6/2014, Burbank, California, U.S.A.

Steve London’s westerns – actor:

Sky King (TV) – 1958 (Dr. Van Vicker)

Mackenzie’s Raiders (TV) – 1959 (Hogue)

Sugarfoot (TV) – 1959 (Sgt. Reddick, Dallas Pike)

Branded (TV) – 1966 (Captain)

Daniel Boone (TV) – 1966 (Barnabas Platt)

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RIP John Fasano

July 21, 2014, 8:41 am

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R.I.P., Writer/Producer/Director John Fasano, 52

THE DEADLINE

By: Staff

July 20, 2014

Writer/producer/director John Fasano, best known for his work in the horror genre, died in his sleep Saturday night at the age of 52, his attorney Craig Baumgarten confirmed. No cause of death was available.

Fasano was nominated for a Writers Guild Award in 1996 for writing the teleplay for The Hunchback for TNT. He also had a hand in more than 40 other film and TV projects, including writing the hit Tom Selleck TV movie Stone Cold, Iraq war TV docudramas Saving Jessica Lynch and The Hunt for Saddam, and films including Alien 3, Meggido: The Omega Code 2, Darkness Falls and Another 48 Hours. Fasano also worked as a script doctor and screenwriting guest lecturer at AFI and the Writer’s Boot Camp. He was president of the screenwriting seminar at the Sony/Canal+ Equinoxe screenwriting seminar in France. He produced and directed several independent films, typically in the horror genre, including Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare, Black Roses and The Jitters, all released in the 1980s.

Fasano, who was born Aug.24, 1961, had his first taste of filmmaking when his father, a friend of director John Cassavetes, brought him along on a visit to the set of Husbands, according to a frequently quoted story in articles about him. In high school, he worked on industrial films for IBM and other companies, and graduated from SUNY-Purchase with a degree in film. He initially worked as an editor or freelance editor for a variety of specialty magazines, but his work creating posters for exploitation films led to a break from producer Jack Bravman, who hired him to direct a low-budget horror film called Zombie Nightmare. After selling the script to Tailgunners to Morgan Creek, he moved to Los Angeles. In 1990, he founded a production company called Thoughts in the Margin.

His projects also ranged well beyond film and TV, including creating and writing Woke Up Dead, a digital series for Sony’s Crackle site featuring Jon Heder. He co-wrote with Roni Keller the book Evie and the Golem, published in 20122. He also wrote frequently about firearms for magazines such as Combat Tactics and American Handgunner, and was known as a prolific designer of Halloween masks. Fasano is survived by his wife, Edie, his children, Lucia and Jon Carlos, and his sister, Felicia, who is a casting director.

FASANO, John (John M. Fasano)

Born: 8/24/1961, New York City, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 7/19/2014, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

John Fasano’s westerns – producer, screenwriter, actor:

Tombstone – 1993 [producer]

The Legend of Butch & Sundance – 2006 (blacksmith) [screenwriter]

Hannah’s Law (TV) – 2012 (Marshal Deger) [screenwriter]

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RIP Vera Mihic-Jolić

July 21, 2014, 8:44 am

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Longtime filmmaker Vera Mihic-Jolić has died.

Association of Filmmakers of Bosnia and Hercegovini

7/16/2014

With sadness we inform our colleagues and co-workers that the long-time member of the Association of Film Workers VERA MIHIĆ JOLIĆ died last night, July 15, 2014th year, at 81 years of age.

Vera has been involved in film production for over thirty years. On dozens of films, she worked in production as the principal organizer and leader of production. She was also involved in the production of some of the most famous Bosnian films (OTAC NA SLUŽBENOM PUTU, DOKTOR MLADEN, DIVERZANTI, MAČAK POD ŠLJEMOM, ULOGA MOJE PORODICE U SVJETSKOJ REVOLUCIJI ).

In the last twenty years she has worked as a consultant on several productions.

She was awarded by the vocational Association of Filmmakers a lifetime achievement for contribution to the BH film in 2012.

MIHIC-JOLIC, Vera

Born: 1933, Sarajeva, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Yugoslavia

Died: 7/13/2014, Sarajeva, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Vera Mihic-Jolic’s western – production manager:

The Golden Sling - 1967

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