RIP Don Pedro Colley

October 16, 2017, 4:38 pm

Don Pedro Colley lost his battle with cancer on October 10^th at his home in Klamath Falls, Oregon. He was 79. Colley was born in Klamath Falls, to Muriel and Pete Colley. His father played piano, and his mother was active in politics in the area. Don Pedro attended Klamath Union High School where he was active in athletics, playing football, and especially enjoying track and field. He also tried out for the 1960 Olympics in discus, placing 6th. Don Pedro also attended the University of Oregon where he studied architecture.

He became interested in acting by accident, after joining some friends for a play rehearsal. He is probably best known for his roles of Gideon in the series, Daniel Boone, in the Beneath the Planet of the Apes film as Ongaro, and as "Sheriff Little" in the TV series, "Dukes of Hazard".

Don Pedro has a daughter; Kira Zuleka Zadow-Colley. He remained very active, as he was semi-retired, and made guest appearances at conventions worldwide.

COLLEY, Don Pedro

Born:8/30/1938, Klamath Falls, Oregon, U.S.A.

Died:10/10/2017, Klamath Falls, Oregon, U.S.A.

Don Pedro Colley’s westerns – actor:

Iron Horse (TV) – 1967 (Asher)

Cimarron Strip (TV) - 1968 (Cully)

Daniel Boone (TV) – 1968-1969 (Gideon)

Here Come the Brides (TV) – 1968 (Ox)

The Virginian (TV) – 1968 (Ira Diller)

The Wild Wild West (TV) – 1968 (Abbie Carter)

Nichols (TV) – 1971 (Joe Cramm)

The Legend of Niger Charler – 1972 (Joe Cramm)

Little House on the Prairie (TV) – 1977 (Dr. Tane)

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RIP Umberto Lenzi

October 19, 2017, 6:58 am

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La Republica

By Alessandra Vitali

October 19, 2017

Umberto Lenzi, Dad of Monnezza and the most beloved films by Tarantino died

He was 86, he was the inventor of the "policeworthy" genre and directed some of the most successful films of the 1970s and 1980s, including 'armed Rome' and 'violent Naples'

The director and screenwriter Umberto Lenzi died at age 86. He had been one of the main authors of genre cinema and had directed films considered cult of enthusiasts, as Milan hates: police can not shoot , armed Rome and violent Naples . Lenzi was born in Massa Marittima, in the province of Grosseto, in 1931, graduating at the Cinema Experimental Center in Rome, and made her directorial debut in 1961 with the cover of Mary Read 's hood and sword. A passionate one, that of cinema, born when he was very young. "In the province life there were not many opportunities: there were those who went to the sea and those who lazily spent their days at the bar. I preferred the cinema," he told in an interview with Republic .

That the genre film was his way, Lenzi understood it soon. He said he was "a snout", seized what was happening on the national and international scene and adapted it to Italian taste. As in the case of adventure films he faces by re-reading some of Salgari's classics, Sandokan the Mompracem tiger who headed in 1963, starring Steve Reeves, the pirates of Malaysia in '64. It is inspired by the James Bond saga, or rather the movie's success on Agent 007, and spells on espionage, Superseven calls Cairo or A008 - Operation Extermination , both in 1965, nor dislikes war movies: Navarone's cannons decide to give confidence to the screenplay of a young Dario Argento and in 1968 he signs the Legion of the Damned . The war genre continues to thrill him in the following years, in 1978 he flees to the United States and directs the Great Attacks , in the cast Henry Fonda, John Huston, Helmut Berger.

But what Lenzi conquers popularity is the yellow one, in which it fits by giving birth to a sub-genre, erotic yellow to Italian. The trilogy begins in '69 with Orgasm , continues with So sweet, so perverse and closes in '70 with Paranoia . The protagonist - in all three - the former Hollywood diva Carroll Baker, stories that mix eroticism, psychology and intrigues and secrets of the aristocracy world, Lenzi calls them "thrillers of the high quarters." But 1970 is also the year when he goes out to cinema The bird from the crystal feathers , Dario Argento sucks and goes proselytizing and Lenzi can not go back: he makes five films in just under five years starting from 1971 with Un Ideal Place to Kill , Seven Spotted Red Orchids , The Ice Knife , Spasm and Red Cats in a Glass Maze .

The "sniff" of which it boasts continues to work. In 1972 he went to the movie The police thank Steno and Lenzi understands immediately where the public's taste turns. It is the birth of the policewoman, a genre in which he will claim more than in others by making some of the most successful films of those years, little appreciated by critics but rewarded by the public. As Milan hates: the police can not shoot in 1974, leading Tomas Milian in the role of Giulio Sacchi, a viscidone, sadistic and cowardly criminal who wants to make career in the world of mala. Bandit, kidnapping, pursuit, shootout and especially violence are the foundations of subsequent works such as Armed Forces Rome (1976), in which the director invokes Tomas Milian, alongside Maurizio Merli who instead returns on stage in violent Naples this same year film earned 60 million lire only in the first programming weekend, a record). With Milian Lenzi, he creates a partnership that is the success of many other films. And it will be with Milian who will "invent" Er Monnezza, the protagonist of cult-titles such as The Truffle and the Blob and The Hunchback Band . A friendship and a professional bond but they will see the end when the Cuban actor will accept to interpret the character of the township ladder in the band of the cheating but directed by Stelvio Massi: a betrayal that Lenzi could not accept and which caused the break between the two.

The war movie, the "thriller of the high quarters", the policewoman: between the late 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s Lenzi changed genre again. It is the time of horror (in those years Dario Silver continues to give the line with titles like Suspiria , Inferno , Darkness ), Lucio Fulci keeps fuss with Fear in the City of Living Dead , Black Cat , And you will live in terror - The beyond , That villa next to the cemetery . Lenzi launches with Nightmare on the contaminated city , it's the 1980s, men contaminated by radiation turn into almost invincible cannibals. "They're not zombies" will keep telling the director when they will point out the too many analogies with Zombi of George A. Romero released two years earlier. But there will be no criticism of the passion of Quentin Tarantino, who in those years also feeds on Umberto Lenzi's films, and his Nightmare on the Contaminated City will often mention one of his favorites.

After many films and some successful boxing titles, Lenzi's career begins to slow down. It is dedicated to a genre, the "cannibalistic" (partly already experienced in 1972 with the Wild Sex Country ) that earns some success abroad but which in Italy is hardly able to pass through the censorship jumps. Eat alive! is the first film, good for American box offices, the following year is Cannibal Ferox, who, unlike the former, gets modest cash (in the first week of programming in New York, incurs $ 400,000), it also becomes one of the most censored movies in history due to some sequences of true animal violence. "I always despised - Lenzi will say in an interview later years - but I did it for survival, I was a year old, unemployed, never in my career." In those years some titles that were not really unforgivable, among which Cicciabomba with Donatella Rector or Pierino was plagued .

Back to thriller-horror genres at the end of the Eighties: Nightmare Beach is a small American production, "sister" of another film written and directed along with Vittorio Rambaldi, Rage, primitive fury . The House 3 - Ghosthouse ('88) will be released, an American production, apocryphal sequel to Sam Raimi's House; Fear in the dark and low budget The gates of hell ; The House of Sorcerer and, in 1989, The House of the Anonymous Winds , the latter for TV, commissioned by RetiItalia, unique occasions where Lenzi worked on the small screen. In the last part of her career Lenzi is dedicated to export movies for smaller markets. The last one is Hornsby and Rodriguez - Criminal Challenge of 1992, while Sarajevo, hell of fire comes out in 1996 directly for home video.

Lenzi withdraws from the scenes (with his wife Olga Pehar, formerly actress of some of his films, later disappeared at the end of 2015) and dedicates himself to writing successful yellow novels ( Cinecittà Delicts , Terror at Harlem , Rome assassin , The clan of the miserable , Criminal heart ). It is in 2016 the biography written by Silvia Trovato and Tiziano Arrigoni, in which the director's life, from Maremma's youth to the Experimental Center of Rome, to gender genres has led him to experience languages, ideas and stories about his libertarian passion for the Spanish Civil War, which called "the only social revolution of the twentieth century". And portraits of characters like Carroll Baker, Tomás Milian and the many he met on the set and out. In short, as the title says, A Life for Cinema. The adventurous story of Umberto Lenzi director.

LENZI, Umberto

Born: 8/6/1931, Massa Marittima, Grosseto, Tuscany, Italy

Died: 10/19/2017, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Umberto Lenzi’s westerns – director, actor

Samson and the Slave Queen – 1963 [director]

Go For Broke – 1968 [director, actor]

A Pistol for 100 Coffins – 1968 [director]

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RIP Warren Burton

October 20, 2017, 6:13 am

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Los Angeles Times

October 20, 2017

October 23, 1944 - October 2, 2017 Born in Chicago, Illinois, Warren Burton was preceded in death by his parents, Donald and Lorraine (nee Stryska) Burton and his sister Gayle Affinito (nee Burton). He is survived by his niece, Victoria Affinito of Chicago, and many loving friends and fans. Warren won a Grammy in 1971 for his work as a writer on Lily Tomlin's "THIS IS A RECORDING" in the category of Best Comedy Recording. He started his TV/Film career in the early 1970's on the made-for-TV movie, "The Girl Most Likely to¿" He went on to star in several daytime soap operas that included the role of Eddie Dorrance on "All My Children" in which he won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor at the 1980 awards broadcast. His other daytime roles have included "Another World,""Guiding Light," and Phillip Hamilton on "Santa Barbara." Burton portrayed Confederate general Henry Heth in the 1993 film Gettysburg. Since the mid-1990s, Burton has been a voice actor for numerous video games including the highly successful "Jak and Daxter" franchise, "Battlezone II: Combat Commander," and "Nox" among several others. Warren was not only a talented actor but one of the kindest souls and will be missed on this earth by all those lucky enough to have known him. A celebration of Warren's life will be held at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on November 15, 2017 at 11a.m.

BURTON, Warren

Born: 10/23/1944, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

Died: 10/2/2017, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Warren Burton’s westerns – actor, voice actor:4

Gettysburg – 1993 (Major General Henry Heth)

Zorro (TV) – 1997-1998 [various voices]

Rango – 2011 [voice of Bean’s Daddy]

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RIP Federico Luppi

October 20, 2017, 7:07 am

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Argentine actor Federico Luppi dies

The 81-year-old actor has died after complicating the bruise on his head after a fall he suffered in April

Argentine actor Federico Luppi, 81, has died this Friday as a result of complications of a blood clot he had in his head since April, when he stumbled and struck himself in the head with a table in his own house, according to informed the newspaper Clarín . The interpreter, remembered for his roles in films such as Tiempo de revancha (1981), El espinazo del diablo (2001) and El laberinto del fauno (2006), among others, had been admitted to the Favaloro Foundation on Thursday, , the Spanish actress Susana Hornos.

This Thursday, Hornos said that the actor was "with the normal ups and downs of these cadres" clinicians. But until April was in full activity. At the time of the house-crash that finally killed him, Luppi planned to start a tour with the play The Last Moons, directed by his wife, in which he reflected simply on old age.

Luppi has undoubtedly been one of the most important Argentinean actors, comparable only to Ricardo Darín or Héctor Alterio. His harsh tone and overwhelming presence on the camera made him a favorite of directors such as Adolfo Aristarain, who considered him the vertebral column of films that were organized around his figure.

In 2001, when the Argentine economy exploded and five presidents succeeded in less than two weeks, Luppi decided to settle in Spain, where his career was already known. He returned to the country with Krichnerism, and his political commitment led him to spend the last years of his life immersed in "bitterness," as he himself said. In an interview in February, he said that he was "disappointed, bitter, sad and lonely" in his own country, dissatisfied with the policies of Mauricio Macri. He even said that his income was not enough to make ends meet.

Federico José Luppi Malacalza was born on February 23, 1936 in the Argentinean town of Ramallo, a semirural town about 200 kilometers from Buenos Aires, in a family of Italian descent. He began acting in 1965, in the film Pajarito Gómez , by Rodolfo Kuhn, and soon reached the consecration with the romance of the Aniceto and the Francisca (1967), a jewel of the Argentinean cinema of the director Leonardo Favio.

From there his career never stopped. He participated in more than 100 films, most of them as protagonist. Many of these films are classics in Spanish cinema: Los pasos perdidos (2001), Lisboa (1999), A place in the world (1992), Martin Hache (1995) and the emblematic Silver Sweet (1982) by Fernando Ayala. In television also it starred in series of fiction still remembered by the Argentineans like exponents of the best of the sort, like High comedy (1971-1972), Men of law and Atreverse (1991).

Its international recognition arrived in 1993, of the hand of the Mexican Guillermo of Toro, with Cronos . Later they shared screen in The spine of the Devil (2001) and the labyrinth of the faun (2006).

LUPPI, Federico (Federico José Luppi Malacalza)

Born: 2/23/1936, Ramallo, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Died: 10/20/2017, Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina

Federico Luppi’s western – actor:

Mi querido Tom Mix – 1992 (Domingo)

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RIP Brent Briscoe

October 20, 2017, 10:57 am

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RIP Brent Briscoe, Twin Peaks actor has died at 56

From Twin Peaks to Parks and Rec, Briscoe brought warmth and texture to every role.

Consequence of Sound

By Randall Colburn

October 19, 2017

Brent Briscoe, a journeyman character actor who performed in more than 100 films and series in his career, has passed away at the age of 56.

A representative for Briscoe confirmed his death to Consequence of Sound, but declined to provide any further details.

Briscoe was most recently seen in David Lynch’s ‘Twin Peaks: The Return, in which he appeared in seven episodes as befuddled South Dakota detective Dave Macklay. He previously played a detective in Lynch’s masterpiece, Mulholland Drive. Briscoe wasn’t a Lynch regular, however, as he was too busy popping up in the blockbusters and indies of filmmakers ranging from Sam Raimi and Christopher Nolan to Oliver Stone and Mike Judge.

Many might remember Briscoe for his recurring role as J.J. (of J.J.’s Diner) on NBC Parks and Recreation, though he was no stranger to TV, having guested on shows like 24, Justified, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Hell on Wheels.

But film was where it all began for him. A Missouri native, Briscoe moved to Hollywood after scoring a plum role in Billy Bob Thornton’s Sling Blade. His rugged, yet warm, countenance made him perfect to play authority figures and the occasional country lug. He reunited with Thornton for some of his subsequent roles, including in Stone’s U-Turn and Raimi’s A Simple Plan, where he co-starred as monkey-in-the-wrench Lou. Down the road, he’d make memorable appearances in Nolan’s The Dark Night Rises, Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, and Frank Darabont’s The Green Mile and The Majestic. That so many directors opted to work with him more than once is a sign of amicability if there ever was one.

Briscoe was also a screenwriter. He and Thornton reunited again when the latter starred alongside Patrick Swayze and Charlize Theron in Waking Up in Reno, a movie Briscoe co-wrote with his old college roommate, Mark Fauser.

We’ll miss seeing him on the fringes of pretty much everything we watch.

BRISCOE, Brent
Born: 5/21/1961, Mobely, Missouri, U.S.A.
Died: 10/18/2017, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Brent Briscoe’s westerns – actor;
The Jack Bull – 199 (Sheriff Felton)
Deadwood (TV) – 2004 (prosecutor)
Ambush at Dark Canyon – 2012 (Morgan Heinz)
Hell on Wheels (TV) – 2013-2014 (Jimmy Two Squaws)

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RIP Robert Guillaume

October 24, 2017, 2:39 pm

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Robert Guillaume, Star of ‘Benson’, Dies at 89

Variety

By Richard Natale

October 24, 2017

Emmy Award-winning actor Robert Guillaume, best known as the title character in the TV sitcom “Benson,” died Tuesday. He was 89.

His wife Donna Brown Guillaume told the Associated Press he died at their Los Angeles home of complications of prostate cancer.

Guillaume often played acerbic, dry-witted, but ultimately lovable characters like the butler Benson Du Bois, which he created on the 1977 series “Soap,” before his character was spun off in 1979. Guillaume won Emmys both for “Soap” (as supporting actor) and “Benson” (as lead actor).

He was also known as the voice of Rafiki in “The Lion King,” for which he also won a Grammy for a spoken word recording.

“Benson” ran on ABC for seven years until 1986. The butler slowly evolved to become a government official, deflecting early complaints by critics like the Washington Post’s Tom Shales that his character was a “male Mammy.” The show brought Guillaume an Emmy in 1985 for lead actor in a comedy.

In the late ’90s he took on the role of Isaac Jaffe, executive producer of a cable sports show on the ABC sitcom “Sports Night,” and continued to perform even after being felled by a stroke.

But Guillaume also possessed a powerful, mellifluous voice, which he used most notably to play the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera” onstage.

After suffering through a period of unemployment during the ’70s, he was cast in an all-black revival of “Guys and Dolls” as Nathan Detroit, which debuted on Broadway in 1977 and secured him a Tony nomination. He also guested during this period on sitcoms such as “All in the Family,” “Good Times,” “Sanford and Son” and “The Jeffersons,” which led to the supporting role of Benson in “Soap.”

After leaving “Benson” behind, he starred in TV movie “John Grin’s Christmas,” a black retelling of “A Christmas Carol” that was Guillaume’s directorial debut. He tried another sitcom in 1989, “The Robert Guillaume Show,” playing a marriage counselor. The series lasted four months before ABC pulled the plug.

He returned to singing in 1990 in the Los Angeles production of “Phantom of the Opera” and on Broadway in the lead role of “Cyrano — The Musical” for four months beginning in November 1993. He also performed regularly in concert.

He was featured in films such as “Meteor Man,” “First Kid” and “Spy Hard.” On television he appeared in the HBO family series “Happily Ever After” and TV movies and miniseries including “Children of the Dust,” “Run for the Dream” and “Pandora’s Clock.”

Guillaume returned to series television in 1998 on “Sports Night” as the fictitious sports program’s producer. A year later he suffered a stroke and was waylaid for a few months. When he returned his illness was worked into the storyline of the series until the series ended its run on ABC the following year.

During the 2000s Guillaume made a few guest appearances on TV shows, including on “8 Simple Rules” in 2003 and “CSI” in 2008, but he focused more heavily on voicework for straight-to-video animated children’s films and videogames.

He appeared in Tim Burton’s “Big Fish” in 2003, and then made more frequent bigscreen appearances later in the decade, appearing in the Christian film “The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry” in 2008; in the thriller “Columbus Circle,” starring Selma Blair, in 2010; and in the small musical dramedy “Satin” in 2011.

Robert Peter Williams was born in St. Louis, Mo., changing his name only after he decided on a career in acting. After completing his schooling he joined the Army in 1945 and was discharged 15 months later. He took on a number of menial jobs while studying nights at St. Louis U. He originally intended to study business but became interested in singing and transferred to Washington U. to study voice and theater.

His performance at the 1957 Aspen Music Festival led to an apprenticeship at the Karamu Performing Arts Theater in Cleveland, where he appeared in operas and musical comedies.

After moving to New York, he made his Broadway debut in a 1960 revival of “Finian’s Rainbow” and found regular employment in the chorus of shows like “Fly, Blackbird,” “Golden Boy” and “Porgy and Bess.” In 1972 he took on the title role in the musical “Purlie” and also appeared in the revue “Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.”

He is survived by his second wife, TV producer Donna Brown Guillaume; one son (another died in 1990); and three daughters.

GUILLAUME, Robert (Robert Peter Williams)
Born: 11/30/1927, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
Died: 10/24/2017, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A

Robert Guillaume’s western – actor:
Children of the Dust (TV) – 1995 (Mossburger)

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RIP John Danischewsky

October 24, 2017, 5:29 pm

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DANISCHEWSKY John (Danny) on 12th October 2017. Film maker and father to Polly, Lucy, Simon and Nicholas, grandfather, great-grandfather to many and brother to Lenka and Sophie, died Thursday 12th October, in California. He will be greatly missed by his family all his many friends.

DANISCHEWSKY John

Born: 1940 Hampstead, London, England, U.K.

Died:10/12/2017, California, U.S.A.

John Danischewsky’s western – assistant director:

The Desperados - 1969

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RIP Willie Chan

October 25, 2017, 12:22 pm

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Willie Chan, Jackie Chan’s former manager, dies at 76

Variety
By Patrick Frater
October 24, 2017

Willie Chan, film producer and long-time manager of Jackie Chan, has died. He was 76.

Sources tell Variety that he died in his sleep, between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, local time.

Born in Malaysia as Chan Chi-keung, and educated partly in Hawaii, Chan moved to Hong Kong in 1970. That was just as Bruce Lee mania was at its peak, and was propelling the Hong Kong film industry, which is made up of many exiles from Greater China, into a production boom.

Chan quickly met Jackie Chan through actor Charlie Chin. Jackie Chan was working as a stunt man. With Hong Kong looking for a new male action hero following Lee’s untimely death, Willie Chan found Jackie Chan his first starring role in Lo Wei’s 1976 film “New Fist of Fury.”

Their 38-year relationship weathered the ups and downs of Jackie Chan’s early career, including self-imposed exile in Australia, and an unsuccessful first attempt to break into Hollywood. Hong Kong’s golden era brought both opportunities and Triad gangster interference, which Willie Chan as a talent manager felt directly.

Although unrelated, Willie Chan and Jackie Chan often described themselves as brothers. It was reported that the pair never signed a talent management contract.

A kind and bustling man, who often shielded his bulging eyes behind dark glasses, Chan in 1985 co-founded JCE Group. That was the vehicle for the pair to develop and produce many of Jackie Chan’s movies for the next several decades. They included several of his U.S. titles, such as “Shanghai Noon” and “The Tuxedo,” after Jackie Chan made a more successful second attempt to work in the Hollywood.

Their professional relationship ended largely without rancor in 2009 after Jackie Chan’s fame and wealth made him too difficult to manage. “[Jackie] didn’t need my help anymore and I couldn’t help him with much. There would be many high-ranking officials at the same table, or rich men, and yes men. My words fell on deaf ears,” Willie Chan was quoted as saying.

Chan has producing credits on Stanley Kwan’s award-winning drama 1991 “Center Stage,” presenter on Sylvia Chang’s “Tempting Hearts,” and executive producer credits on Hong Kong titles including “New Police Story” and “Gen-X Cops.”

CHAN, Willie (Chan Chi Keung)

Born: 5/22/1941, Malaysia

Died: 10/24/2017, Taiwan, China

Willie Chan’s western – producer:

Shanghai Noon - 2000

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RIP Jack Bannon

October 26, 2017, 1:48 pm

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The Spokesman-Review

By Carolyn Lamberson

October 26, 2017

Jack Bannon, who played assistant city editor Art Donovan on the Emmy-winning TV series “Lou Grant,” and who since 1995 has lived in Coeur d’Alene with his wife, Ellen Travolta, died Wednesday.

He was 77.

Bannon was active player on local stages, including two decades in the company of Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre. There, he was Don Quixote in “Man of La Mancha,” Henry Higgens in “My Fair Lady,” Horace Vandergelder twice in “Hello, Dolly,” Daddy Warbucks in “Annie,” and the narrator of “Into the Woods.” At Spokane Civic Theatre, he portrayed the stage manager in “Our Town,” and at the former Interplayers he starred in “Art,” “The Fantasticks” and “Bus Stop,” among others. His last play was “On Shaky Ground,” for Ignite Community Theater in 2016, which was written by his stepdaughter, radio host Molly Allen. He and his wife co-starred frequently, doing “Love Letters” at Lake City Playhouse, Interplayers, CST and the University of Idaho, or in recent years in the holiday show at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.

His career stretched back to 1964, when he made his debut in the TV sitcom “Karen.” He would go on to make appearances on shows such as “The Andy Griffith Show,” “Petticoat Junction,” “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Daniel Boone,” “Mannix,” “Barney Miller,” and “Charlie’s Angels.”
But it was “Lou Grant” that most closely defines Bannon’s career. The show was a spin-off of the iconic “Mary Tyler Moore Show,” as Ed Asner’s gruff editor relocated from a Minneapolis TV station to the newsroom of the fictional Los Angeles Tribune. It was an unusual move, taking the character from a 30-minute comedy to an hourlong drama that often delved into social commentary, but it seemed to work. The show ran for five seasons on CBS, and won an Emmy for outstanding drama. It also won two Golden Globes and the Peabody.

His film credits include the 1969 horror film “Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice,” starring Ruth Gordon and Geraldine Page, 1970’s “Little Big Man” with Dustin Hoffman and Faye Dunaway, and the 1990 Jean-Claude Van Damme action flick “Death Warrant.”

Bannon was born June 14, 1940, to a show business family. His father, Jim Bannon, was a radio, television and movie actor who played the Red Ryder in four 1940s Westerns. His mother, Bea Benaderet, was a noted radio and television performer. She did several voices for the “Fibber McGee and Molly” radio show, and was a two-time Emmy nominee for best supporting actress for her work on “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.” She was Kate Bradley on “Petticoat Junction” and “Green Acres” and the voice of Betty Rubble on the “The Flintstones.”

His first marriage to Kathleen Larkin ended in divorce. In 1983, he married Travolta. The two had met at birthday party for their agent - a party both Bannon and 10-year-old Molly brought the same gift to.

“Their longtime agent, he was a hypochondriac, and I brought him a pretend doctor’s kit,” Allen said. “And Jack brought him a deluxe pretend doctor’s kit. Then he saw my mom he asked who the lady with the pretty green eyes was. Then they started dating.”

She added, “Jack and I had a similar sense of humor from the beginning.”

Bannon and Travolta started visiting the Coeur d’Alene area in the late 1980s. By 1995, they’d bought their place above the lake and left Los Angeles. Rather than retire, he continued to work, although mostly it was on the stage.

He typically was a standout performer in whatever role he was in, and was seemingly as happy with a major role as he was with smaller parts. In his final season with CST, in 2013, he cropped up unannounced in “Big River” as Judge Thatcher, a last-minute substitution.

“It was sweet because sometimes he would do small parts in a play at Summer Theatre because he wanted to be part of it, and he’d do two scenes, and another show, he would be the lead,” Allen said. “He just wanted to be a part of it.”

In his review of Civic’s “Our Town” in 2000, former Spokesman-Review writer admitted to gushing in his appraisal of Bannon’s work as the stage manager. “He is commanding in a way which manages not to be domineering. He is informal, droll and his New England accent is right on the mark. He not only sounds the part, he looks the part. With his vest and pocket watch and his long, lean Yankee frame, he looks like an uncommonly wise train conductor. You might say he is conducting us into a kind of a fourth theatrical dimension, in which we can finally see ourselves as we really are.”

Bannon died in Coeur d’Alene surrounded by family, Allen said. He is survived by his wife, Ellen Travolta Bannon, stepchildren Molly Allen and Tom Fridley, sister Maggie Fuller and her husband, Clark Fuller, and two nieces and a nephew. Services are pending.

BANNON, Jack
Born: 6/14/1940, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Died: 10/25/2017, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, U.S.A.

Jack Bannon’s westerns – actor:
Daniel Boone (TV) – 1967-1970 (Lieutenant Poole, Captain Smith, officer, Lieutenant Parker)
Lancer (TV) – 1968 (tracker)
Here Come the Brides (TV) – 1969 (guard)
Little Big Man – 1970 (Captain)
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (TV) – 1995 (Dr. John Potter)
Navajo’s Blues – 1996 (Captain Hansen)

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RIP Harry Stradling Jr.

October 27, 2017, 4:29 pm

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Famed Cinematographer Harry Stradling Jr. Dies at 92

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

10/27/2017

The two-time Oscar nominee specialized in Westerns like 'Rooster Cogburn' and 'Gunsmoke' and also shot 'The Way We Were,''1776' and 'Little Big Man.'

Harry Stradling Jr., the two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer who shot such films as Little Big Man, The Way We Were, 1776and Rooster Cogburn, has died. He was 92.

Stradling Jr. died Oct. 17 at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills, his son, John, told The Hollywood Reporter.

He was the son of another acclaimed director of photography, Harry Stradling Sr., who won Academy Awards for The Picture of Dorian Gray and My Fair Lady and was nominated a dozen other times (for A Streetcar Named Desire, Guys and Dolls, Funny Girl, etc.).

Stradling Jr., though, certainly carved out a superb career for himself, working across genres on films including the family comedy With Six You Get Eggroll (1968), the George C. Scott caper flick Bank Shot (1974), the action war movie Midway (1976) and the Muhammad Ali biopic The Greatest (1977).

Stradling Jr. received his Oscar noms in consecutive years — 1973 and '74 — for the adaptation of the Broadway sensation 1776 and for the Barbra Streisand-Robert Redford romantic drama The Way We Were, respectively. (Streisand was in good hands; his father had photographed her in her first four films.)

Stradling Jr. also shot many Westerns for the big screen, including six for director Burt Kennedy (1969's Support Your Local Sheriff and the 1971 follow-up, Support Your Local Gunfighter, among them); The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973), starring Burt Reynolds; and John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn's Rooster Cogburn (1975).

He worked on 87 installments of Gunsmoke from 1964-67 (from the start of the show's 10th season through the beginning of the 13th) before leaving to shoot almost all of the episodes in the only season of another CBS Western, Cimarron Strip, starring Stuart Whitman, in 1967-68.

Stradling Jr. also collaborated with director Blake Edwards on S.O.B. (1981), Micki + Maude (1984), A Fine Mess (1986) and Blind Date(1987).

Born in New York City on Jan. 7, 1925, Stradling Jr. spent time early in his career as a camera assistant and camera operator, beginning when he "slapped the slate" on George Cukor's Gaslight (1944). He also was behind the scenes for features including Fred Zinnemann's film noir classic Act of Violence (1949) and The Tall Target (1951), directed by Anthony Mann.

He then worked alongside his dad on Guys and Dolls (1955), The Pajama Game (1957), Auntie Mame (1958), The Miracle(1959), A Summer Place (1959) and Gypsy (1962).

"Since he was my father, I had to cut the mustard myself … which made me better," he told author Jim Udel in a 2007 interview.

Stradling Jr. went out on his own as a cinematographer for the first time on Welcome to Hard Times (1967), a Western that starred Henry Fonda and marked the DP's first collaboration with Kennedy.
Another Fonda Western, There Was a Crooked Man … (1970), soon followed, as did the horror film The Mad Room (1969) and Arthur Penn's Little Big Man (1970). On the Dustin Hoffman starrer, Stradling Jr. operated a camera one-handed as he rode on horseback while dressed as a Native American, and the film features wonderful snow-white landscapes.

His body of work also includes John Sturges' McQ (1974), Sam Peckinpah's Convoy (1978), Ted Post's Go Tell the Spartans(1978), Robert Kaylor's Carny (1980), Billy Wilder's Buddy Buddy(1981), John Frankenheimer's Prophecy (1979) and his last film, Caddyshack II (1988).
Stradling Jr. also earned an Emmy nomination in 1984 for the CBS miniseries George Washington, starring Barry Bostwick.

His great uncle was silent-era cinematographer Walter Stradling, who shot several Mary Pickford movies, and his sons John, Bob and Michael together have dozens of camera credits in Hollywood.
Asked by Udel what advice he would give aspiring cinematographers, Stradling Jr. said: "Always listen to the director. He's the boss of the film. And always make the ladies look good."

STRADLING Jr. Harry

Born: 1/7/1925, New York City, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 10/17/2017, Woodland Hills, California, U.S.A.

Harry Stradling Jr.’s Westerns – cinematographer, cameraman.

The Kissing Bandit – 1948 [cameraman]

Stars in My Crown – 1950 [cameraman]

Return to Warbow – 1958 [cameraman]

Rider on a Dead Horse – 1962 [cameraman]

Gunsmoke (TV) – 1964-1967 [cinematographer]

Welcome to Hard Times – 1967 [cinematographer]

Cimarron Strip (TV) – 1967-1968 [cinematographer]

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

Support Your Local Sheriff! – 1969 [cinematographer]

Young Billy Young – 1969 [cinematographer]

Little Big Man – 1970 [cinematographer]

There Was a Crooked Man – 1970 [cinematographer]

Dirty Dingud Magee – 1971 [cinematographer]

Something Big – 1971 [cinematographer]

Support Your Local Gunfighter – 1971 [cinematographer]

The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing – 1973 [cinematographer]

Bite the Bullet – 1975 [cinematographer]

Rooster Cogburn – 1975 [cinematographer]

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RIP Frank Barron

October 28, 2017, 7:15 am

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Frank Barron, Former Editor of The Hollywood Reporter, Dies at 98

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

10/27/2017

He also created a 1950s TV Western, 'The Man From Blackhawk,' wrote cartoons for Hanna-Barbera and did rock 'n' roll publicity.

Frank Barron, who served as editor of The Hollywood Reporter in the 1960s and '70s after writing cartoons for Hanna-Barbera and creating a TV Western, has died. He was 98.

Barron, of Sherman Oaks, died Monday of natural causes after a brief stay at the Sepulveda Veterans Administration hospice unit in North Hills, his wife, Margie, told THR. The couple were married in October 1980 at the Beverly Hills home of actors Shirley Jones and Marty Ingels.

Barron knew and interviewed show business legends and notables for more than 70 years and kept active until recently, his wife said.

The New Jersey native had memorable encounters with Walt Disney, John Wayne, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bob Hope and many, many others. "Hollywood gave me a great life, and I met wonderful people," he said.

Barron had two stints as THR editor under owner-publisher Tichi Wilkerson, first from 1964-68 and then again in the late '70s. In between, he worked for a short time with writer-producer Al Burton developing show ideas for Norman Lear, then served as news director for Billboard Publications' five magazines from 1968-72.

He also was employed by Gibson & Stromberg, a top rock 'n' roll PR company. "With the rock concerts, parties and wild characters I met, it was the most fun I ever had," he said.

For Stirling Silliphant (In the Heat of the Night, Route 66) and producer Herb Meadow, Barron created The Man From Blackhawk, which starred Robert Rockwell (Our Miss Brooks) as an insurance investigator in the Old West. The Screen Gems series aired for one season (1959-60) and 37 episodes before "a six-month writers strike killed it," Barron noted.

He also collaborated with Duke Ellington in 1959 on a revival of his famous Jump for Joy musical revue with actress-singer Barbara McNair. He wrote material for the show with Sid Kuller; they had worked together for years writing nightclub material.

Known for his sharp wit, Barron also wrote Woody Woodpecker cartoons and Hanna-Barbera storylines for his pal, Joseph Barbera.

In the early '60s, Barron was the publicity director at KHJ-TV and Radio (now KCAL). Longtime THR editor Don Carle Gillette noticed all the attention that tiny Channel 9 was getting and groomed Barron to take over for him when he retired.

Barron was born on Feb. 5, 1919, in Elizabeth, N.J., the second son of Sarah and Israel Goldberg. He began his writing career in junior high, selling stories to Boys Life and other magazines. In high school, he covered sports for The Newark Evening News.

"I wanted to be a sportswriter and a baseball catcher; I wanted to write about the major leagues as an insider," he said.

Barron joined the U.S. Army in 1941 and was stationed in England in the Medical Corps. Turning down a commission, he left in 1945 as a master sergeant, then became sports editor for the Asbury Park newspaper in New Jersey.

Barron accepted a government job in Japan, running several Air Force Base newspapers in the Tokyo area for about a year, then headed to California.

"I got my foot in the Hollywood door when I met Ray Brenner, and we teamed as comedy writers," he said. "An agent signed us, and we wrote radio shows for Red Skelton, Edgar Bergen and Martin & Lewis and [for other shows like] Duffy's Tavern and Fibber McGee and Molly."

In the early days of television in the '50s, Frank wrote for The Jerry Colonna Show and served as the head writer for The Pinky Lee Show, a groundbreaking kids program starring the burlesque comic that aired daily. He also wrote for a local NBC variety show, Komedy Kapers.

"I was set to direct it, but Jerry Lewis took over so he could get experience for his DGA card," he recalled. "I never forgave him for that missed opportunity."

Barron later appeared in the 1980 film The Man With Bogart's Face, written and produced by friend Andrew J. Fenady; freelanced for publications including Emmy magazine and The Tolucan Times; and was a contributing editor for Production Update magazine.

He also was a member of the Television Critics Association and covered the press tour well into his 90s. THR television critic and TCA president Daniel Fienberg noted that Barron "was an endless resource of stories and institutional knowledge" and that he received recognition from documentarian Ken Burns on the TCA stage just two years ago.

Barron also wrote many stories with Margie, a former publicist, and they did a lot of traveling together.

Survivors also include his sister-in-law Mary Lou, niece Ruth and cousins Barry and Howard.

It was Barron's wish to donate his body to UCLA's Geffen School of Medicine for the advancement of medical education and research. A celebration of his life, to be held on his birthday in 2018, is being planned.

BARRON, Frank

Born: 2/5/1919, Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Died: 10/23/2017, North Hill, California, U.S.A.

Frank Barron’s western– writer.

The Man From Blackhawk (TV) – 1959-1960 [creator]

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RIP Raúl Dávalos

October 29, 2017, 7:27 am

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Raúl Dávalos, Film Editor on 'Empire,' Dies at 62

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

10/26/2017

He partnered with his wife and fellow editor on the Fox drama after working on four Lawrence Kasdan films and 'Gilmore Girls.'

Raúl Dávalos, a respected film editor who worked on such features as Benny & Joon and Dreamcatcher and on TV shows including Gilmore Girls and, most recently, Empire, has died. He was 62.

Dávalos died Monday at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, his wife, Cindy Fret — who also works as an editor on Empire — told The Hollywood Reporter. He had been diagnosed with a brain tumor in December.

Dávalos and Fret met in 2003 when both worked on Gilmore Girls, and they had been employed on Empire since the show's debut in January 2015. The couple were to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary on New Year's Eve.

“Raúl set the tone for the entire Empire family, which is filled with such great warm-hearted people," Ishai Setton, another editor on the show, wrote on Facebook.

Born in Havana, Dávalos came to the U.S. with his family when he was just a baby and was raised in Key Biscayne, Florida. He attended Loyola University in New Orleans and London Film School, moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s and worked as an assistant editor under his mentor, Carol Littleton (an Oscar nominee for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial).

Dávalos and Littleton collaborated on Silverado (1985), The Accidental Tourist (1988), Wyatt Earp (1994) and Dreamcatcher (2003), all directed by Lawrence Kasdan; Benny & Joon (1993), starring Johnny Depp; and John Bailey's China Moon (1994).

Dávalos' résumé also includes the Taylor Hackford documentary Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (1987) and the features Destiny Turns on the Radio (1995); Guillermo del Toro's Cronos (1993); Meet Wally Sparks (1997), starring Rodney Dangerfield; and The Amateurs (2005).

Dávalos worked on the WB Network-CW series Gilmore Girls throughout its seven-season run from 2000-07. He also edited other TV shows including Amazing Stories, Bunheads, Heroes, The Glades, Reign and Jane the Virgin.

Survivors also include his children Alina and Alex and brother Mario. A GoFundMe page has been created to help his family with expenses.

DAVALOS, Raúl

Born: 1955, Havana, Cuba

Died: 10/23/2017, Burbank, California, U.S.A.

Raúl Dávalos’ westerns – film editor:

Silverado – 1985

Wyatt Earp - 1994

↧

RIP Herbert Strabel

October 30, 2017, 6:52 am

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Herbert Strabel, Oscar-Winning Set Designer on ‘Cabaret,’ dies at 90

The Hollywood Reporter

By Rhett Bartlett

10/29/2017

The German also worked on films including ‘Brass Target,’ ‘Night Crossing’ and The NeverEnding Story.’

Herbert Strabel, the Berlin-born art director and set designer who won an Academy Award for his work on the Liza Minnelli classic Cabaret, has died. He was 90.

Strabel died Oct. 21 in a nursing home in Holzkirchen, Germany, The Munchner Merkur newspaper reported

Strabel also served as art director on the Germany-set 1978 suspense film Brass Target, which implied that Gen. George Patton's fatal automobile crash was not accidental.

When Ingmar Bergman was living in Germany in a tax-related exile, he hired Strabel for From the Life of the Marionettes (1980), which told the story of Katarina and Peter Egermann, two characters who briefly appeared in the famed director's Scenes From a Marriage (1973).

Strabel was art director on the Delbert Mann drama Night Crossing(1982), which starred John Hurt in the true story of families attempting to escape East Germany in a hot air balloon. Two years later, he teamed with Wolfgang Petersen on the fantasy adventure The NeverEnding Story.

Strabel also was the set decorator on Rainer Werner Fassbinder's first feature in English, Despair (1978). He then worked with the director on Lili Marleen (1981).

Cabaret (1972), directed by Bob Fosse, told the story of Sally Bowles (Minnelli in her Oscar-winning role), a performer at the Kit Kat Klub in Berlin. The film is set in 1931, shortly before the Nazis' rise to power.

Strabel's designs wonderfully showcased the stage and backstage area of the Kit Kat Klub, as it became a central character in itself, symbolic of the decadence of the era. Upon its release, The Hollywood Reporter critic Garry Giddins wrote that Cabaret was "a musical for people who don't particularly care for musicals."

The film also is known for winning the most Academy Awards, eight — for director, actress, supporting actor, cinematography, editing, original score, art direction-set decoration and sound — without collecting the best picture prize as well.

On Oscar night, Strabel shared his award with Rolf Zehetbauer and Hans Jurgen Kiebach.

Strabel also received a Emmy nomination in 1984 for his work on ABC'sInside the Third Reich, starring Rutger Hauer and John Gielgud.

He retired from the industry in 1988.

STRABEL, Herbert

Born: 10/14/1927, Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Died: 10/21/2017, Holzkirchen, Bavaria, Germany

Herbert Strabel’s western – set decorator:
The Cry of the Black Wolves - 1972

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RIP Dennis Banks

October 30, 2017, 12:46 pm

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Dennis Banks, American Indian activist who helped lead Wounded Knee occupation, dies at 80

Associated Press

October 30, 2017

Dennis Banks, a co-founder of the American Indian Movement and a leader of the 1973 Wounded Knee occupation, has died, his family announced Monday. He was 80.

Banks was one of several activists who founded the American Indian Movement in Minneapolis in 1968, and he was a leader of AIM's armed takeover of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in 1973, in a protest against both the tribal and U.S. governments.

The village had been the site of a massacre by U.S. soldiers in 1890 that left an estimated 300 Indians dead.

The occupiers held federal agents at bay for 71 days.

Banks died Sunday night at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., his family said. He had developed pneumonia following heart surgery, and his family said they honored his wishes not to be put on life support.

Banks, whose Ojibwe name was Nowacumig, lived near the town of Federal Dam on the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota. His family said that as Banks took his last breaths, son Minoh Banks sang him four songs for his journey.

"All the family who were present prayed over him and said our individual goodbyes," the family said. "Then we proudly sang him the AIM song as his final send off."

American Indian activist Dennis Banks, left, speaks to reporters on Lake Bemidji, during an American Indian treaty rights protest in Bemidji, Minn., in 2010. (Jeff Baenen / AP)

Banks and fellow AIM leader Russell Means faced charges stemming from the Wounded Knee occupation, but a judge threw out the case. However, Banks spent 18 months in prison in the 1980s after being convicted for rioting and assault in a protest in Custer, S.D., earlier in 1973. He avoided prosecution on those charges for several years after California Gov. Jerry Brown refused to extradite him, and the Onondaga Nation in New York gave him sanctuary.

Banks was part of a group of AIM supporters who returned to Wounded Knee in 2003 to mark the 30th anniversary of the standoff, in which two Native Americans died. Banks paid tribute to them as "warriors" and declared it "a national holiday." He was also there in 1998 for the 25th anniversary.

Banks also helped lead a takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs offices in Washington, D.C., in 1972 as part of a protest dubbed "The Trail of Broken Treaties." And he was a participant in the 1969-71 occupation by Native Americans of Alcatraz Island, the site of the former prison in San Francisco Bay.

He returned to the Leech Lake Reservation in the late 1990s and founded a company that sold wild rice and maple syrup, trading on his famous name.

Russell Means dies at 72; American Indian rights activist, actor

In 2010, Banks joined several other Ojibwe from the Leech Lake and White Earth bands who tested their rights under an 1855 treaty by setting out nets illegally on Lake Bemidji a day before Minnesota's fishing season opener.

The Banks family said he would be buried with traditional services in his home community of Leech Lake.

BANKS, Dennis (Dennis J. Bank)

Born: 4/12/1937, Leech Lake Reservation, Minnesota, U.S.A.

Died: 10/29/2017, Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.A.

Dennis Banks’ westerns – actor:

War Party – 1988 (Ben Crowkiler / Dead Crow Chief)

The Last of the Mohicans – 1992 (Ongewasgone)

Thuderheart – 1992 [himself]

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RIP Deon Stewardson

October 30, 2017, 4:17 pm

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Aberdeen shocked by death of well-known local

Advertiser

10/30/2017

ABERDEEN NEWS - The news of the sudden death of Deon Stewardson has shocked and saddened the Aberdeen community.

Well-known internationally for his role in the TV series Wild at Heart, he was one of Aberdeen’s great characters.

Stewardson’s body was found in an accommodation establishment in Graaff-Reinet early on Friday afternoon - police have confirmed that he took his own life.

Deon was the son of South African actor Joe Stewardson and brother of the late Matthew Stewardson.

STEWARDSON, Deon

Born: 11/30/1951, South Africa

Died: 10/27/2017, Graaff-Reinet, South Africa

Deon Stewardson’s western – actor:

Desperado: The Outlaw Years (TV) - 1989

↧

RIP Madge Meredith

November 1, 2017, 11:26 am

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Honolulu Star

October 2m 2017

Marjorie M. Corley 96, of Volcano, Hawaii, died in Volcano on September 16, 2017. She was born in Iowa Falls, Iowa. Visitation: 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.; Services: 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 5, 2017 at Cooper Center, Volcano, Hawaii.

MEREDITH, Madge (Marjorie May Massow)

Born: 7/15/1921, Iowa Falls, Iowa, U.S.A.

Died: 9/16/2017, Volcano, Hawaii, U.S.A.

Madge Meredith’s westerns – actress:

Trail Street – 1947 (Susan)

Cowboy G-Men (TV) – 1952-1953 (Maria Delgado, Joan LaTur, Lenore Delson, Mary Danning)

Tumbleweed – 1953 (Sarah Blander)

The Adventures of Kit Carson (TV) – 1954 (Lola Grant, Jane Winters, Ruth Haines, Lola Gaunt)

The Lone Ranger (TV) – 1955 (Mrs. Righter)

Judge Roy Bean (TV) – 1956 (Kate O’Hara)

The Guns of Fort Petticoat – 1957 (Sarah Dickson)

The Adventures of Jim Bowie (TV) – 1957 (Sarah Dickson)

Northwest Passage (TV) – 1958 (Mary Broom)

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RIP Andrew Isaacs

November 2, 2017, 9:08 am

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Daily Breeze

11/2/2017

A memorial service will be held at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 4th Holy Cross Cemetery, Chapel of the Risen Christ.

He was an Inglewood Councilman, District 1, Los Angeles County Deputy Health Officer, and a Los Angeles Police Officer, World War II Army Veteran, and Buffalo Soldier 10th Calvary (Horse). Isaacs died October 22nd in Roseville, CA. He was 94.

Andrew Quinten Isaacs, born December 13, 1922 Breckenridge and Cora Isaacs in Kansas City, Kansas. The youngest of children, he attended Stowe Elementary School and Northeast Junior High School and graduated from Sumner High School in May of 1940.

After high school Andrew Isaacs enlisted in the 10th Calvary July 26, 1940 in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. While Trooper Isaacs was in the U.S. Army, World War II began and he was in for the duration of the war. Serving five years he was honorably discharged from service January 1945 in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He received military honors and decorations.

Andrew's illustrious professional career began working for the City of Los Angeles Health Department he went to Los Angeles City College and received his Associates Degree. He furthered his education for a short time by attending college at University of Southern California. While employed at the City of Los Angeles, he was Vice President and Director of the All City Employees Association where he devoted time and talents to the welfare of his fellow City Employees.

He left the health department and went to the Los Angeles Police Academy and in 1955 joined the Police Department for a short time.

Later he returned to the newly combined Los Angeles City Health Department and Los Angeles County Department of Health as a Deputy Health Officer. While employed for LA County Andrew Isaacs held 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice-President, and a member of the board for SEIU Local 660. He was instrumental in forming the 76th Street Block Club that was organized to solve neighborhood problems. He was a member of the Inglewood Branch of the N.A.A.C.P. He continued with the County Health Department and retired in March 1976 after 34 years.

While still working for the County, in November 1974 he was appointed to complete the 2 year term balance of Council District 1 in the City of Inglewood. He was elected for a 2nd term. As City Councilman he served as member of the Southern California Association of Governments Transportation and Utilities Committee. He was instrumental in the development of the 105 Freeway. Governor Jerry Brown called him the "Freeway Man." He served as Chairman of the Federal Aid Urban Committee. He represented the City of Inglewood as Mayor Pro-Tem at many League of Cities Mayor Conferences.

During his long and industrious career and after retirement, he served as member of St. John Lodge #5 F. and A.M. He rose to a 32nd degree Mason. He was a member and President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the 10th (Horse) Calvary Buffalo Soldier Chairman of Public Relations and was given many commendations from the City of Los Angeles for his many years of dedication. June 2016 was the 150th Anniversary of the Buffalo Soldiers. During this celebration, the California Senate recognized Andrew, as the oldest original Buffalo Soldier in the State of California. Senator Tony Mendoza did the honors and made Andrew honorary Senator for the day.

During the 1950's he worked as an Actor in several movies and television as an extra during the 50's. He worked in The Horse Soldier, The Ten Commandments, Sins of Rachael, Cade, South Pacific, The Man from Uncle, and others.

After living in Los Angeles since 1945, he moved to Sacramento, CA in 2010 to be closer to his daughter Kimberly as he aged.

Andrew leaves behind his daughter; Kimberly Isaacs, step-daughters, Ida Starr, Carolyn Mathews, Jolene Sarnowski, grandchildren; Laurray Isaacs, Michael Isaacs II (Melissa), Kenyon Isaacs I (Toni), Le'Telle Isaacs and Joseph Isaacs, Jr., Linzie Starr, James Starr, Sarah Sarnowski, Dennis Conant. He leaves behind fifteen great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren, and a host of nephews, and nieces.

His parents, siblings; David, Benjamin, Ruth, Rachel Kayhill, and Breckenridge proceeded him in death. As well as three of his children Michael, Pamela and Joseph.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be sent to Andrew's favorite charities, SPLC: Southern Poverty Law Center, USO: United Service Organizations, DAV: Disabled Americans Veterans Charity, and St. Joseph Indian School: Native American (Lakota) School. Please sign the guest book at

ISAACS, Andrew (Andrew Quinten Isaacs)

Born: 12/13/1922, Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.A.

Died: 10/22/2017, Roseville, California, U.S.A.

Andrew Isaacs’ western – actor:

The Horse Soldiers - 1959

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RIP Renzo Calegari

November 3, 2017, 2:13 pm

≫ Next: RIP Gianluca Petrazi

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Renzo Calegari, designer of "The History of the West" died

Comicus

November 3, 2017

Renzo Calegari died today at the age of 84, Renzo Calegari, a Ligurian artist known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s on the History of the West by Edizioni Araldo, alongside Gino D'Antonio and Renato Polese

He was active since 1955, and during his career Calegari has also worked with Gianluigi Bonelli on Davy Crockett. In addition to publishing in the magazines Skorpio, Giornalino and Orient Express, in 1994 he designed the character of Tex for Sergio Bonelli Editore.

In 2012, after the death of his wife, he had asked the state for the benefits of the Bacchelli Law, and the petitioners in his favor also featured personalities of politics and entertainment such as Maurizio Crozza, Don Andrea Gallo, Sergio Cofferati and Carla Signoris .

CALEGARI, Renzo

Born: 9/5/1933, Genoa, Liguria, Italy

Died: 11/3/2017, Chiavari, Liguria, Italy

Renzo Calegari’s westerns – cartoon artist:

El Kid – 1955

I tre Bill - 1955

Big Davy – 1957

Welcome to Springville - 1964

History of the West – 1967-1980

Bandidos! - 1994

Tex - 1994

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RIP Gianluca Petrazi

November 3, 2017, 4:18 pm

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≪ Previous: RIP Renzo Calegari

Gianluca Petrazzi died in Rome on November 1st. He was among the most prominent stunt men and stunt coordinators in Italy and abroad. Born in Rome, Italy on September 3, 1966 he was only 51 years old. Petrazzi appeared in one Euro-western: “Buck and the Magic Bracelet” (1996) in the role of Ezechiele. He was the son of assistant director, actor Riccardo Petrazzi [1938-2003] and brother of actor, stuntman Francesco Petrazzi. As the son of trapeze artists and other descendants of a circus family, he began his stunt career at the age of 9. He participated in more than 100 films, as a stuntman and stunt coordinator, he lead the action unit on countless films. As director he made several short films and in 2013 directed his first feature film "Criminal Rome". His lone Euro-western was as Ezechiele in 1996's "Buck and the Magic Bracelet"

PETRAZZI, Gianluca

Born: 9/3/1966, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Died: 11/1/2017, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Gianluca Petrazzi’s western – actor:

Buck and the Magic Bracelet – 1996 (Ezechiele)

↧

RIP Dudley Simpson

November 5, 2017, 6:36 pm

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Doctor Who News

November 5, 2017

One of the most prolific contributors to Doctor Who, Composer Dudley Simpson has died at the age of 95.

Dudley Simpson worked on at least 290 episodes of Doctor Who, writing the score to over 60 stories. His music provided the soundtrack to the majority of the adventures of the first four Doctors as well as contributing some of the most iconic TV Theme tunes, writing the title music for Blake's 7 and The Tomorrow People.

Dudley Simpson was born in Australia on the 4th October 1922. He served in World War II before studying orchestration and composition at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. He worked for the Borovansky Ballet Company, the predecessor to the Australian Ballet, before moving to the UK, where after a season as guest conductor at Covent Garden, he became Principal Conductor of the Royal Opera House orchestra for three years.

He first wrote music for television in 1961, working on a BBC drama called Jack's Horrible Luck, directed by Gerard Glaister. It was his work on the drama Moonstrike which brought him to the attention of Doctor Who's Associate producer Mervyn Pinfield, who recruited him to write the music for the First Doctor story Planet of Giants.

Over the next 15 years, he would contribute more to Doctor Who than almost any other person. His role call is incredible. Following Planet of Giants he wrote the score to The Crusade; The Chase; The Celestial Toymaker; The Underwater Menace; The Evil of the Daleks; The Ice Warriors; Fury From the Deep; The Seeds of Death; The Space Pirates; The War Games; Spearhead From Space; The Ambassadors of Death; Terror of the Autons; The Mind of Evil; The Claws of Axos; Colony In Space; The Dæmons; Day of the Daleks; The Curse of Peladon; The Three Doctors; Carnival Of Monsters; Frontier In Space; Planet of the Daleks; The Green Death; The Time Warrior; Invasion of the Dinosaurs; The Monster of Peladon; Planet of the Spiders; Robot; The Ark In Space; The Sontaran Experiment; Genesis of the Daleks; Planet of Evil; Pyramids of Mars; The Android Invasion; The Brain of Morbius; The Masque of Mandragora; The Hand Of Fear; The Deadly Assassin; The Face of Evil; The Robots of Death; The Talons of Weng-Chiang; Horror of Fang Rock; The Invisible Enemy; Image of the Fendahl; The Sun Makers; Underworld; The Invasion of Time; The Ribos Operation; The Pirate Planet; The Stones of Blood; The Androids of Tara; The Power of Kroll; The Armageddon Factor; Destiny of the Daleks; City of Death; The Creature from the Pit; Nightmare of Eden; and The Horns of Nimon.

His one appearance in the series came in 1977 when he played the Conductor in Episode 4 of The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

Simpson's last score for the series would be for the lost story, Shada. With the advent of a new producer, John Nathan Turner, who wanted a fresh sound for the programme, his services were dispensed with.

Dudley Simpson's work on Doctor Who brought him to the attention of other TV producers and in the 1970's his talent could be heard providing the soundtrack to many much-loved series. He wrote the music to The Brothers, the 1972 drama that dominated the ratings on Sunday evenings and introduced Colin Baker to the country. He wrote the theme to The Tomorrow People, the ITV Science Fiction series for children. And he wrote the spectacular theme to Terry Nation's Blake's 7 and provided incidental music for 50 out of the 52 episodes made.

Other series included Moonbase 3, The Ascent of Man, Target, A Little Princess, Paul Temple, Lorna Doone, Kidnapped, Curtain of Fear, Triton, The Man Outside, A Pin to See the Peepshow, Microbes and Men, Madame Bovary, North & South, Katy, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, The Legend of King Arthur, Stalky & Co, Dombey & Son, Goodbye Mr. Chips, The Diary of Anne Frank, Super Gran and several plays in the BBC Television Shakespeare series.

Dudley Simpson retired in the 1990's and returned to his native Australia. He returned to the UK in 2013 to help celebrate Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary

Dudley Simpson died on Saturday 4th November in Australia.

SIMPSON, Dudley (Dudley George Simpson)

Born: 10/4/1922, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Died:11/4/2017, Australia

Dudley’s Simpson’s westerns – composer:

The Last of the Mohicans (TV) - 1971

Hawkeye, the Pathfinder (TV) - 1973

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