RIP Joaquín Díaz

September 4, 2013, 12:53 pm

Voice actor, director and teacher Joaquín Díaz has died in Spain. He was 83.

Born on August 26, 1930 Joaquín Díaz made his first dubbing work as a child and since the 1950s he became a vital voice for the film.

While he was able to tackle any role, Joaquin Diaz always had a talent for comedy especially prominent roles and managed to make us laugh openly both with comic characters, and with others with much more content.

He has the Spanish voice of such actors as Jack Lemmon, Peter Ustinov, Telly Savalas, Danny DeVito, Max Von Sydow, Ian Holm, Eli Wallach and Bob Hoskins just to mention a few of an endless list.

He has also worked as a dubbing director, especially in the 1970s and 1980s, during which he directed more than fifty films.

Diaz was the father of a son Chus and a daughter actress Asunción Díaz.

DÍAZ, Joaquín (Joaquín Díaz Muntané)

Born: 8/26/1930, Barcelona, Barcelona, Cataluna Spain

Died: 9/4/2013, Spain

Joaquín Díaz's westerns - voice actor:

Frontier Hellcat – 1964 [Spanish voice of Renato Baldini]

The Man from Oklahoma – 1964 [Spanish voice of Charles Alberty]

$5.00 for Ringo - 1965 [Spanish voice of Albert Farley]

$5,000 on One Ace - 1965 [Spanish voice of Hans Nielsen]

The Return of Ringo – 1965 [Spanish voice of Antonio Casas]

Dynamite Jim – 1966 (Morgan)

Ace High – 1967 [Spanish voice of Eli Wallach]

Custer of the West – 1967 [Spanish voice of cook]

Gentleman Killer – 167 [Spanish voice of Benito Stefanelli, sergeant]

Guns for San Sebastian - 1967 [Spanish voice of Jorge de Hoyos Martínez]

Professionals for a Massacre – 1967 [Spanish voice of Milo Quesada]

The Ruthless Four – 1967 [Spanish voice of Klaus Kinski]

Shalako – 1968 [Spanish voice of Alexander Knox]

Boot Hill – 1969 [Spanish voice of Victor Buono #1]

El Condor - 1969 [Spanish voice of Iron Eyes Cody]

Sabata – 1969 [Spanish voice of Anthony Gradwell]

Companeros! – 1970 [Spanish voice of Rosebud]

Doc – 1970 [Spanish voice of John Scanlon]

The Buzzards and Crows Will Dig Your Grave – 1971

Chato’s Land – 1971 [Spanish voice of Simon Oakland]

A Cry of Death – 1971 [Spanish voice of Raul Garcia]

The Deserter – 1971 [Spanish voice of John Alderson]

Duck You Sucker – 1971 [Spanish voice of Rod Steiger]

Red Sun – 1971 [Spanish voice of Toshiro Mifune]

Now They Call Him Sacramento – 1972 [Spanish voice of Gig Bonos]

Billy Two Hats – 1973 [Spanish Catalan voice of Jack Warden]

Eh? Who’s Afraid of Zorro! – 1975 [Spanish voice of Tito Garcia]

China 9, Liberty 37 [Spanish Catalan voice of Luis Prendes]

Dead Man - 1994 [Spanish voice of Gary Farmer]

↧

RIP Dante DiPaolo

September 6, 2013, 1:23 pm

≫ Next: RIP Lorna Lewis

≪ Previous: RIP Joaquín Díaz

Actor and dancer Dante DiPaolo, 87, died Tuesday, following a short illness, family members said on Wednesday.

DiPaolo was the widower of singer/actress Rosemary Clooney.

The two met during the filming of the movie "Here Come the Girls."

"It was love at first sight," he said in a 2010 interview with The Ledger Independent.

They were romantically linked until he left the filming of "White Christmas" for his roll as Matt in the movie "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers."

The mention of her name would bring a twinkle to DiPaolo's eye.

They met again years later to rekindle their relationship following a chance encounter on a California highway.

Clooney was driving her Corvette, DiPaolo said.

He was driving his white 1956 Ford Thunderbird and, for lack of paper, he wrote her number in the dust on the dashboard, he said.

They were married Nov. 7, 1997, in Maysville.

Clooney, Rosella, as he called her, died in 2002.

DiPaolo, an internationally known dancer and actor continued to visited Augusta, where he and Clooney had lived as a retreat from California.

"I love everyone in that whole area; they are so welcoming and have always treated me so nicely," DiPaolo said in 2010. "I have been to my boyhood home town in Colorado and there is nobody left I know. I am the oldest of my clan and the others are all gone."

Beginning dancing at 6 years old, DiPaolo's career spanned generations, including a stint in 1945 as a chorus boy in the Ziegfeld Follies, and acting roles in movies and television.

At age 18 he entered the U.S. Army as an infantryman and was just an hour away from being sent to the front lines of World War II in the Philippines when General Douglas MacArthur took control of Manila, DiPaolo said.

"They said he needed clerks who could type 40 words a minute," he said.

After taking the test, DiPaolo said he was relieved to learn his high school typing classes had paid off and he had passed the test with exactly 40 words per minute.

"One mistake and the rest could have been completely different," he said.

Following the war he returned to his career as a dancer.

According to DiPaolo, he had no children of his own, but had an extended family through his brother Richard and Clooney's family.

He had remained friends with his ex-wife, Nadia, as well, family members said.

Nina Clooney, Rosemary Clooney's sister-in-law, said on Wednesday, DiPaiolo had been in a hospital for about a month, recovering from a fall.

“We had been out to see him last week,” Clooney said. “He was very bright in his conversation. He was in bed, but seemed content to be there. His mood was very up.”

Family members were optimistic he was recovering.

“It just floored me when I heard the news. I never dreamed he would die,” said Ben Breslin, who considered DiPaolo a favorite relative through his cousin Rosemary Clooney.

“Theirs was a cool love story. He was a wonderful member of our family, a treasure we will all dearly miss, forever,” Breslin said. “I was honored to be a part of their wedding.”

He recalled DiPaolo as a talented man who was devoted to the people in his life; a doting son to his late mother, adoring husband to Clooney, a gentleman in his ever present straw fedora style hat to adoring fans, and a tornado in the kitchen.

“He loved to cook, but what a mess he could make in there,” Breslin said with a laugh. “He was someone who loved life and lived it to the fullest.”

Yesterday DiPaolo was moved to a hospice facility where his condition rapidly declined, Clooney said.

“They said, he stopped talking and just passed away,” she said.

Information on funeral services was not available Wednesday.

DiPAOLO, Dante

Born: 2/18/1926, Frederick, Colorado, U.S.A.

Died: 9/3/2013, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Dante DiPaolo’s westerns – actor:

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers – 1954 (Matt)

The Wild Wild West (TV) – 1967 (Jeff Smith)

↧

RIP Lorna Lewis

September 6, 2013, 2:36 pm

≫ Next: RIP Mirko Boman

≪ Previous: RIP Dante DiPaolo

The actress Lorna Lewis died early in June. A staple of British TV through the 70s and into the 80s, she was best known as Pet Simpson in the original Survivors BBC series. Plenty of theatre work under her belt too. She had retired from acting and joined the clergy some time ago, and her death is reported on her village community website:

Lorna trained at RADA in the UK and in the US at the American Conservatory Theatre. She undertook much theatre work in the US and toured Pittsburgh, Detroit and Washington in a variety of classic plays such as Antigone, Caucasian Chalk Circle, A Winter's Tale, King Lear and St. Joan, in which she took the title role. She even starred in a Broadway production of Luther with Albert Finney.

Her television roles on both sides of the Atlantic have included: Maelstrom (Liv) 1985, Doomwatch Ep: Deadly Dangerous (Miss Brandon) 1970, The Wild, Wild West Ep: The Night of Bleak Island (Helen Merritt) 1969, Adam 12 Ep: Log 112: You Blew It (Flo) 1969

LEWIS, Lorna (Lorna Christina Cleveland)

Born: 194?, England, U.K.

Died: 6/1?/2013, Wye, Kent, England, U.K.

Lorna Lewis' western's - actress:
The Wild Wild West (TV) - 1969 (Helen Merritt)

↧

RIP Mirko Boman

September 10, 2013, 2:26 pm

≫ Next: RIP Saul Landau

≪ Previous: RIP Lorna Lewis

Croatian character actor Mirko Boman died in Zagreb, Croatia on August 30, 2013. He was 86. Mirko-Elizabeta Boman was born on December 11, 1926 in Zagreb. He was seen primarily in character and supporting roles since the 1950s. Mirko appeared in over 50 films and TV series. He appeared in such Croatian films as “Duch maršála Tit” (The Ghost of Marshal Tito) (1999) and the thriller “Hezké mrtvé dívky” (Dead Beautiful Girls) (2002), which won many international awards. Mirko was a semi-regular in the Karl May ‘Winnetou’ films appearing in “The Treasure of Silver Lake” (1962) as Uncle Gunstick, “Shatterhand” (1963) as Dick Stone, “Frontier Hellcat” (1964) as Davy Long and “Last of the Renegades” (1964) again as Uncle Gunstick. He also appeared in two other Euro-westerns: “The Sheriff was a Lady” (1964) and “Hellhounds of Alaska” (1972).

BOMAN, Mirko (Mirko-Elizabeta Boman)
Born: 12/11/1926, Zagreb, Croatia
Died: 8/30/2013, Zagreb, Croatia

Mirko Boman's westerns - actor:
The Treasure of Silver Lake - 1962 (Uncle Gunstick)

Shatterhand – 1963 (Dick Stone)

Frontier Hellcat - 1964 (Davy Long)

Last of the Renegades – 1964 (Uncle Gunstick)

The Sheriff was a Lady – 1964 (Perkins henchman)

Hellhounds of Alaska - 1972 (Shat) [as Mirco Roman]

↧

RIP Saul Landau

September 10, 2013, 5:44 pm

≫ Next: RIP Don Nelson

≪ Previous: RIP Mirko Boman

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Saul Landau, a prolific, award-winning documentary filmmaker who traveled the world profiling political leaders like Cuba's Fidel Castro and Chile's Salvador Allende and used his camera to draw attention to war, poverty and racism, has died. He was 77.

Landau, who had been battling bladder cancer for two years, died Monday night at home in Alameda, Calif., with his children and grandchildren, said colleague John Cavanagh, director of the Institute for Policy Studies.

The director, producer and writer of more than 40 documentaries had continued to work almost until his death. He regularly submitted essays to the Huffington Post and elsewhere, sometimes writing from his hospital bed, according to his son, Greg. He was also working on a documentary on homophobia in Cuba.

Landau authored of 14 books. While most covered issues like radical politics, consumer culture and globalization, one of them, My Dad Was Not Hamlet, was a collection of poetry.

His documentaries tackled a variety of issues, but each contained one underlying theme: reporting on a subject that was otherwise going largely unnoticed at the time, whether it was American ghetto life, the destruction of an indigenous Mexican culture or the inner workings of the CIA.

"We tried to take on themes that nobody else was taking on and that were important," Landau told the Associated Press in July.

His most acclaimed documentary was likely 1979's Paul Jacobs and the Nuclear Gang, which examined the effects of radiation exposure to people living downwind from Nevada's above-ground nuclear bomb tests in the 1950s. The film received a George Polk Award for investigative reporting and other honors.

It took its name from Landau's friend Paul Jacobs, who contracted cancer that he believed was caused by radiation exposure. He died before the film was completed.

Landau told the AP one of the documentaries he was most proud of was The Sixth Sun: Mayan Uprising in Chiapas, which looked at the 1994 rebellion by the impoverished indigenous people of southern Mexico. Landau traveled to Chiapas to interview, among others, the masked revolutionary leader known as Subcommandante Marcos.

His 1968 documentary Fidel gave U.S. audiences one of their earliest close-ups of the revolutionary leader who installed communism in Cuba. It came about after a brief meeting with Castro, who told Landau he had seen a news report he had done on Cuba the year before.

"He said he liked the film very much and asked me what my next film was going to be," Landau recalled. "I said, 'I'd like to do one on you.'"

In 1971, Landau and fellow filmmaker Haskell Wexler traveled to Chile for a rare U.S. interview with Allende, who had just been elected his country's president and who would die two years later in a military coup.

Although he made more than three dozen films, Landau said he never set out to be a filmmaker.

"I didn't set out to be anything," he said in July. "I just fell into it."

Landau graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and after moving to San Francisco he was at various times a film distributor, author, playwright and member of the San Francisco Mime Troupe.

Two of his earliest books, The New Radicals and To Serve The Devil (both co-written with Jacobs), led to his being approached by a San Francisco public television station that wanted a report on ghetto conditions in Oakland. The result was his first documentary, 1966's Losing Just The Same.
A frequent commentator on radio and television in later years, Landau was also a professor emeritus at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where he taught history and digital media.

LANDAU, Saul
Born: 1/15/1936, U.S.A.
Died: 9/9/2013, Alameda, California, U.S.A.

Saul Landau's western - director:
A Song for Dead Warriors - 1973

↧

RIP Don Nelson

September 11, 2013, 4:01 pm

≫ Next: RIP Louise Currie

≪ Previous: RIP Saul Landau

Don Nelson dies at 86; writer for 'Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'
Screenwriter Don Nelson, younger brother of Ozzie Nelson, contributed to more
than 200 episodes of the popular TV show 'Ozzie and Harriet.' He was also a jazz
singer and saxophonist.

By Devin Kelly, Los Angeles Times
2:13 PM PDT, September 11, 2013

Don Nelson, a screenwriter, film producer and musician who co-wrote scripts for
"The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" - the classic American television series
centered on his brother Ozzie's family - as well as for more than two dozen
other films and TV series, has died. He was 86.

Nelson, who had Parkinson's disease, died of an aortic aneurysm Tuesday at his
home in Studio City, said his wife, Marilyn.

As a staff writer for "Ozzie and Harriet," one of the longest-running family
comedies in TV history, Nelson came up with Ricky Nelson's trademark catchphrase
"I don't mess around, boy," and contributed to more than 200 episodes of the
series with storylines anchored famously on the harmless. The show, which ran
from 1952 to 1966, enjoyed enormous popularity and cast the mold for successors
such as "Father Knows Best" and "Leave It to Beaver."

In a 1998 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Nelson observed that "Ozzie and
Harriet" epitomized the era while drawing its share of critics and parodies.

"We have been blamed for all the ills of the '50s and '60s and have been praised
for all the good things about those decades because it presented a way of life
that was a little idyllic," Nelson said.

His talent for comedic writing landed him jobs at Universal Studios, Fox Studios
and Hanna-Barbera Productions, working on shows that included "The Ghost and
Mrs. Muir," "Nanny and the Professor" and "Bridget Loves Bernie." Nelson also
co-wrote four feature films for Disney Studios, including "Gus" and "Herbie Goes
to Monte Carlo."

In a musical family, Nelson carved out a name for himself as a jazz singer and
soprano saxophonist, releasing two albums - "The Wind" (1957) and "Sittin' In"
with Johnny Varro (1986). Until about five years ago, Nelson was a fixture at
jazz venues in the San Fernando Valley.

Donald Richard Nelson was born Jan. 20, 1927, in Hackensack, N.J., and grew up
in the nearby borough of Tenafly. A 21-year age difference separated him from
his brother Ozzie, and by the time Nelson reached high school, Ozzie Nelson had
launched a career as a bandleader, with a number of popular recordings and a
billing on the radio show "Ripley's Believe It or Not." At 16, Nelson joined
Ozzie's band as a saxophonist.

About a year later, Nelson left high school with a war diploma and enlisted in
the Navy. He played saxophone in the Navy band, entertaining troops aboard ships
in Hawaii and the Pacific.

His jazz performance career included a long stint in the 1980s and '90s as a
soprano saxophonist, vocalist and composer for the Los Angeles-based Great
Pacific Jazz Band, led by pianist Bob Ringwald.

He also co-wrote the 1952 film "Here Come the Nelsons," the Nelsons' only
theatrical feature. The film, which starred Rock Hudson, essentially served as a
pilot for the TV version of the popular radio series, on which Nelson also
worked as a writer.

He outlived all four members of the Nelson TV family; Ozzie Nelson died of liver
cancer in 1975, Rick Nelson died in a plane crash in 1985, Harriet Nelson died
in 1994, and David Nelson died in 2011.

His is survived by his third wife, Marilyn; his daughters Kathy Nelson and
Laurie Nelson Weatherston; and stepchildren Michael, Marc and Matthew Williams
and Michael Griffin.

NELSON, Don (Donald Richard Nelson)
Born: 1/20/1927, Hackensack, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Died: 9/10/2013, Studio City, California, U.S.A.

Don Nelson's western - screenwriter:
Hot Lead and Cold Feet - 1978

↧

RIP Louise Currie

September 14, 2013, 9:54 am

≫ Next: RIP Arthur Malet

≪ Previous: RIP Don Nelson

Obituary: Louise Currie Good

Los Angeles Times

April 7, 1913 - September 8, 2013 Louise C. Good was born in Oklahoma City on April 7, 1913. She married Robert Hefner, Jr., 1934. Louise went to California, with her baby, Robert Hefner III. She worked in more than 50 films and Serials from 1939-1949. She married John M. Haffen, 1940, giving birth to her daughter Sharon Haffen Becket. Later she married John V. Good, 1948, becoming an Interior Decorator and importing Italian Antiques. We will always remember her keen sense of style, elegance, spirit and determination. Louise will always be an inspiration to her family and friends. Louise is survived by her son Robert Hefner III, her daughter Sharon Becket, her step-son Allen Good, her step-daughter Chris Abel and many grand and great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her memory to The Colleagues Memorial Fund, 3312 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405, Attn: Jane Ackerman OR www.womenheart.org

CURRIE, Louise (Louise Gunter)

Born: 4/7/1913, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.A.

Died: 9/8/2013, U.S.A.

Louis Currie’s westerns – actress:

Billy the Kid Outlawed – 1940 (Molly Fitzgerald)

Billy the Kid’s Gun Justice – 1940 (Ann Roberts)

The Pinto Kid – 1941 (Betty Ainsley)

Dude Cowboy – 1941 (Gail Sargent)

Stardust on the Sage – 1942 (Nancy Drew)

Forty Thieves – 1944 (Katherine Reynolds)

Gun Town – 1946 ('Buckskin' Jane Sawyer)

Wild West – 1946 (Florabelle Bannister)

Steve Donovan, Western Marshal (TV) – 1956 (Peggy Hayes)

↧

RIP Arthur Malet

September 15, 2013, 7:45 am

≫ Next: Jimmy Herman

≪ Previous: RIP Louise Currie

Arthur Malet died on May 18, 2013 in Santa Monica, California, U.S.A. He was an English actor of stage, film and television.

Vivian R. Malet was born in Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire, England. He emigrated to the United States in the 1950s, changed his forename to Arthur, began acting onstage, and won two Drama Desk Awards in 1957. Malet came to some prominence in 1960s films, often playing characters much older than his real age, such as Mr. Dawes, Jr., in Disney's “Mary Poppins”.

He played undertaker Ted Ulam in Norman Jewison's 1967 film “In the Heat of the Night”, and as Joe Fenwick in a 1972 episode of Columbo, ‘Dagger of the Mind’. He went on to play a village elder in Mel Brooks' “Young Frankenstein” in 1974, the graveyard keeper in John Carpenter's “Halloween” in 1978, and Tootles in “Hook” in 1991.

His appearances on television include episodes of ‘The Donna Reed Show’, ‘The Monster Squad’, ‘Adventures in Paradise’, ‘The Alfred Hitchcock Hour’ and ‘Bewitched’. He voiced the character of Mr. Ages in “The Secret of NIMH’ in 1982.

MALET, Arthur (Vivian R. Malet)

Born: 9/24/1927, Lee-on-Solent, England, U.K.

Died: 5/18/2013, Santa Monica, California, U.S.A.

Arthur Malet’s westerns – actor:

The Rifleman (TV) – 1962 (Jeremy Pennebroke)

Gunsmoke (TV) – 1962, 1965, 1973 (Farnum, Barney Cox, oldtimer)

The Man from Galveston – 1963 (Barney)

Destry (TV) – 1964 (Hancock)

Rawhide (TV) – 1965 (T. Reginald Wingate)

The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin – 1967 (Chinese food eater)

The Guns of Will Sonnett (TV) – 1968 (Pickett)

Bonanza (TV) – 1968 (Tingle the barber)

The Wild Wild West (TV) – 1966, 1967, 1969 (Dr. Meyer, Doc Keyno, Professor Montague)

The Virginian (TV) – 1969 (night clerk)

Lancer (TV) – 1970 (footman)

The Culpepper Cattle Company – 1972 (doctor)

↧

Jimmy Herman

September 16, 2013, 7:30 pm

≫ Next: RIP Lyn Peters

≪ Previous: RIP Arthur Malet

Dances With Wolves actor Jimmy Herman dies in Edmonton

By Marty Klinkenberg, Edmonton Journal

September 16, 2013

EDMONTON - Native actor Jimmy Herman, who rose to prominence with a role in the Academy Award-Winning film Dances with Wolves, died in Edmonton on Friday at age 72.

Born on the Cold Lake Reserve, Herman attended a residential school and battled alcohol before taking up aboriginal studies at Grant MacEwan College and going to work for the Native Counseling Services of Alberta.

In 1989, he decided to pursue performing arts and a year later was cast as a Sioux warrior in Kevin Costner's epic film, a portrayal that launched a distinguished career.

The son of a fur trapper who lived off the land in northeastern Alberta, Herman appeared in numerous movies and television programs over the last two decades, including a 10-year stint as Joe Gomba - a fur trapper - in the CBC series North of 60. He was also cast in the film Reindeer Games, had a cameo role in Clint Eastwood's Oscar-winning western Unforgiven, played Geronimo in a made-for-cable movie and appeared on the X-Files.

In 2005, he was honored by Edmonton's Dreamspeakers Film Festival Society with a plaque on its Aboriginal Walk of Fame.

"Jimmy was a pioneer," said Murray Jurak, vice-president of the Dreamspeakers Society. "It was a shock when I heard he died.

"He was one of the first people to get involved in media and tell our stories and, despite all of his success, remained a humble guy. "He always stood with the First Nations community."

A father of two daughters with one grandchild, Herman had fallen ill for several months. He collapsed at home on Thursday night shortly after asking his wife, Shirley, to take him to the hospital, his brother, Jerry, said.

A viewing will be held from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday at the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton, in the same neighborhood where he worked to counsel other aboriginals who have fallen upon hard times. His funeral will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. on the Cold Lake First Nation.

"The thing that was most amazing about him was the path in life that he took," Jerry Herman said Sunday night. "He had many struggles, but he came a long way and made himself into what he had become."

An activist for native rights in recent years, Jerry Herman said Jimmy counselled inmates and worked with youth on the Cold Lake First Nation encouraging them to take pride in who they were.

"Everyone knows where he came from," Jerry Herman said. "He tried to tell young

people that if he could make it, anybody could.

"I was so very proud of him."

HERMAN, Jimmy

Born: 10/25/1930, Cold Lake Reserve, Alberta, Canada

Died: 9/13/2013, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Jimmy Herman’s westerns – actor:

Dances with Wolves – 1990 (Stone Calf)

Unforgiven – 1992 (train person #2)

Geronimo (TV) – 1993 (Old Geronimo)

Blind Justice (TV) – 1994 (Shaman)

Tecumseh: The Last Warrior (TV) – 1995 (Cornstalk)

Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years (TV) – 1996 (Little Wolf)

Crazy Horse (TV) – 1996 (Conquering Bear)

Winnetou Returns (TV) – 1998 (Tah-Sha-Tunga)

Gunslinger’s Revenge – 1998 (Indian Grandfather)

Phantom Town – 1999 (attendant)

The Jack Bull (TV) – 1999 (Crow Indian)

Grey Owl – 1999 (Chief Pete Misebi)

The Claim – 2000 (miner #3)

Johnson County War (TV) – 2002 (Sam-the-Wolfer)

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (TV) – 2007 (Yellow Bird)

↧

RIP Lyn Peters

September 17, 2013, 9:36 am

≫ Next: RIP John Mercedes

≪ Previous: Jimmy Herman

Lyn Burke, widow of TV and film actor Paul Burke, passed away peacefully at her home in Palm Springs on September 10, 2013. She was 72. Born in Argentina and educated in England, she started her career as a model in London and was photographed by some of fashion's top photographers including Harry Langdon. Known professionally as Lyn Peters, she came to Hollywood in the 1960s to pursue an acting career, bringing along her young son from a previous marriage, Karl Steiner. There she met "the love of her life," husband Paul. Lyn appeared in many TV series including "Batman,""Get Smart," and "Hogan's Heroes." Lyn was a graduate of the prestigious culinary academy, Le Cordon Bleu, and after retiring from the entertainment industry in the 1980's she founded Custom Catering. Considered the "caterer to the stars," her clientele included Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, and the Annenbergs. A loyal friend and lover of animals, Lyn possessed a joie de vivre that inspired all who knew her. She is dearly loved and will be missed by her family, friends and beloved dog, Babe, whom she rescued. She is survived by her three stepchildren, Paula Burke Lopez, Paul Brian Burke, and Dina Burke Shawkat, as well as six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Her son, Karl, died in 1989. Her husband, Paul Burke, passed away in 2009. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 26th at 11:00 am at The Church of St. Paul in the Desert located at 125 West El Alameda in Palm Springs.

PETERS, Lyn (Evelyn Anne Peters)

Born: 1941, Argentina

Died: 9/10/2013, Palm Springs, California, U.S.A.

Lyn Peters westerns – actress:

Laredo (TV) – 1967 (Nellie)

Daniel Boone (TV) – 1967 (Julia Cartwright)

↧

RIP John Mercedes

September 17, 2013, 5:01 pm

≫ Next: RIP John J. Smith

≪ Previous: RIP Lyn Peters

Jon Mercedes, a personal manager, publicist, producer, writer and film executive, died Monday at his Hollywood home from colon cancer. He was 65.

In 1978, Mercedes founded Mercedes/Cohen Management and United Public Relations, and two years later launched The Mercedes Co. His clients included Charlene Tilton (Dallas), Claudia Lonow (Knots Landing), Susan Richardson (Eight Is Enough), Tracey Bregman (The Young and the Restless) and Jimmy Baio (Soap).

Mercedes served for two years as vice president development and creative affairs for Esparza/Katz Productions, the company behind the TNT/New Line Cinema film Gettysburg (1993), and was chairman and CEO of Fiesta Studios.

Mercedes wrote for the Canadian game show Party Game and later became a staff writer for ABC’s Happy Days. He was an executive producer on Pale Horse Pale Rider, a 1980 short film that featured Tilton and Ray Walston.

Born in Cuba, Mercedes produced more than 50 Latino stand-up shows at The Improv and The Comedy Store in Los Angeles.

Mercedes attended Los Angeles City College and UCLA, where he was a film major. He was a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Hollywood Radio and TV Society, Independent Film Project/West, the Screen Actors Guild and WGA West, where he served as chairman of the Latino Writers Committee.

Survivors include his brother Manuel, sisters Myra and Susy, two nephews and a niece. According to publicist Roger Neal, Mercedes did not want a memorial service and asked that his ashes be spread near the Hollywood sign.

MERCEDES, Jon

Born: 5/27/1948, Cuba

Died: 9/16/2013, Hollywood, California, U.S.A.

Jon Mercedes’ western – actor:

Adios Amigo - 1976

↧

RIP John J. Smith

September 17, 2013, 5:45 pm

≫ Next: RIP Richard C. Sarafian

≪ Previous: RIP John Mercedes

He worked on such films as "To Live and Die in L.A.,""Sister Act" and "Waterworld."

John J. Smith, a production manager on such films as To Live and Die in L.A., Sister Act and Waterworld, died Tuesday of pulmonary fibrosis at his home in Northridge, Calif. He was 69.

Smith, who also served as a line producer and assistant director during his 20-year-plus career, started out on the horror film Satan's Mistress (1982), starring Britt Eklund.

Other movies listed on his vast résumé are Mannequin (1987), Dutch (1991), The Thing Called Love (1993), Grumpier Old Men (1995), Red Corner (1997) and Windtalkers (2002).

Survivors include Jo Ann, his wife of 45 years; sons John, Mark, Stephen and Paul; brother Paul; sisters Marian, Jackie and Shirley Ann; and six grandchildren.

His son John heads the internal awards office at Disney Studios in Burbank.

SMITH, John J.

Born: 1944, Fremont, Ohio, U.S.A.

Died: 9/10/2013, Northridge, California, U.S.A.

John J. Smith’s western – production manager:

Lust in the Dust - 1985

↧

RIP Richard C. Sarafian

September 18, 2013, 10:46 am

≫ Next: RIP Ken Norton

≪ Previous: RIP John J. Smith

Vanishing Point director Richard C. Sarafian died today in Santa Monica of complications from pneumonia. He was 83. The New York City-born Sarafian had suffered a fall recently where he broke several ribs and back. He contracted the infection while recovering from that incident. Sarafian’s helming of the iconic 1971 car pic was an inspiration to Quentin Tarantino, who gave the director a Special Thanks in the credits of 2007’s car-themed Death Proof. The director was also behind the camera on a number of episodes of TV shows like Batman, I Spy, 77 Sunset Strip and Gunsmoke as well. His last directing job was a 2011 episode of Zorro: The Legend Continues. Sarafian was a presence in front of the camera too. Among his various acting jobs, his good friend Warren Beatty cast him in both Bullworth and Bugsy.

SARAFIAN, Richard C.

Born: 4/28/1930, New York City, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 9/18/2013, Santa Monica, California, U.S.A.

Richard C. Sarafian’s westerns – producer, director, screenwriter, film editor:

Maverick (TV) – 1961 [director]

Bronco (TV) – 1961 [director]

Cheyenne (TV) – 1961, 1962 [director]

Lawman (TV) – 1961, 1962

Terror at Black Falls – 1962 [producer, director, screenwriter, film editor]

The Dakotas (TV) – 1963 [director]

Redigo (TV) – 1963 [director]

Bonanza (TV) – 1963 [director]

The Wild Wild West (TV) – 1965 [director]

The Big Valley (TV) – 1965 [director]

Gunsmoke (TV) – 1965, 1967, 1968 [director]

Iron Horse (TV) – 1967 [director]

Cimarron Strip (TV) – 1967 [director]

The Guns of Will Sonnett (TV) – 1967 [director]

Man in the Wilderness – 1971 [director]

Wildside (TV) – 1985 [director]

Zorro: The Legend Continues (TV) – 1990 [director]

↧

RIP Ken Norton

September 18, 2013, 6:13 pm

≫ Next: Dario De Grassi

≪ Previous: RIP Richard C. Sarafian

Former heavyweight champion Norton dies

Former heavyweight champion Ken Norton, who beat Muhammad Ali and later lost a controversial decision to him in Yankee Stadium, died Wednesday at a local care facility, his son said. He was 70.

Ken Norton Jr., a coach with the Seattle Seahawks, confirmed the death to The Associated Press before handing the phone to his wife, too distraught to talk.

Norton had been in poor health for the last several years after suffering a series of strokes, a friend of the fighter said.

''He's been fighting the battle for two years,'' said Gene Kilroy, Ali's former business manager. ''I'm sure he's in heaven now with all the great fighters. I'd like to hear that conversation.''

Norton broke Ali's jaw in their first bout, beating him by split decision in 1973 in a non-title fight in San Diego. They fought six months later, and Ali won a split decision.

They met for a third time on Sept. 28, 1976, at Yankee Stadium and Ali narrowly won to keep his heavyweight title.

Norton would come back the next year to win a heavyweight title eliminator and was declared champion by the World Boxing Council. But on June 9, 1978, he lost a bruising 15-round fight to Larry Holmes in what many regard as one of boxing's epic heavyweight bouts and would never be champion again.

Norton finished with a record of 42-7-1 and 33 knockouts. He would later embark on an acting career, appearing in several movies, and was a commentator at fights.

Norton started boxing when he was in the Marines, and began his pro career after his release from duty in 1967. He lost only once in his early fights but had fought few fighters of any note when he was selected to meet Ali. At the time, Ali was campaigning to try to win back the heavyweight crown he lost to Joe Frazier in 1973.

Few gave Norton, who possessed a muscular, sculpted body, much of a chance against Ali in the fight, held at the Sports Arena in San Diego, where Norton lived. But his awkward style and close-in pressing tactics confused his opponent, and Norton broke Ali's jaw on the way to the decision that put him in the top echelon of heavyweight fighters.

''Ali thought it would be an easy fight,'' Kilroy said. ''But Norton was unorthodox. Instead of jabbing from above like most fighters he would put his hand down and jab up at Ali.''

Kilroy said after the fight Norton visited Ali at the hospital where he was getting his broken jaw wired. Ali, he said, told him he was a great fighter and he never wanted to fight him again.

Instead, they would meet two more times, including the final fight at Yankee Stadium on a night when police were on strike and many in the crowd feared for their safety. The fight went 15 rounds and Ali won a decision.

Norton would come back the next year to win an eliminator against Jimmy Young and was declared champion by the WBC when Leon Spinks was stripped of the title after deciding to fight Ali in a rematch instead of defending his new title against the mandatory challenger.

Norton was badly injured in a near fatal car accident in 1986. He recovered but never regained his full physical mobility.

"The doctors said I would never walk or talk,'' Norton said at an autograph session in 2011 in Las Vegas, lifting his trademark fedora to show long surgical scars on his bald head.

Ken Norton Jr. was a star linebacker at UCLA who played 13 seasons for the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers in the NFL.

Kilroy said Norton was visited at the veteran's hospital in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson by former fighters, including Mike Tyson, Earnie Shavers and Thomas Hearns.

Norton fought only five more times after losing his title to Holmes. His final fight came Nov. 5, 1981, when he was knocked out in the first round by Gerry Cooney at Madison Square Garden.

NORTON, Ken (Kenneth Howard Florence)

Born: 8/9/1943, Jacksonville, Illinois, U.S.A.

Died: 9/18/2013, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.

Ken Norton’s western – actor:

The Man Who Came Back – 2008 (Grandpa)

↧

Dario De Grassi

September 19, 2013, 8:33 am

≫ Next: RIP Amidou

≪ Previous: RIP Ken Norton

Film, TV and voice actor Dario De Grassi died in Rome, Italy on September 19th after a long illness. He was 74.

Known for havingvoicedLawrenceTierneyin QuentinTarantino's "Reservoir Dogs"and other actors like MichaelGambon, BenGazzara,SeymourCassel, JackWarden.

Sometimes he wascreditedunder the pseudonym ofDeanDeGrassi.

On television, hewas one ofthe actors in theminiserieswith LieutenantSheridan 'La donna di cuori e La donna di picche',in whichhe playedthe role of apolice officer.

De Grassi, Dario
Born: 4/12/1939, Rome, Lazio, Italy
Died: 9/19/2013, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Dario De Grassi's westerns - actor:
The Man Who Came to Kill - 1965
Dynamite Joe - 1966 (Foster)
My Name is Pecos - 1966 (Pratt)
A Taste for Killing - 1966 (Steve)

↧

RIP Amidou

September 20, 2013, 6:45 am

≫ Next: RIP Luciano Vincenzoni

≪ Previous: Dario De Grassi

Amidou the first Moroccan actor to have made a name in France has died.

The actor Amidou , 78, the first Moroccan actor to have made a name in France, died Thursday September 19, 2013 evening in a Paris hospital as a result of disease.

Mohammed Amidou Benmessaoud his real name, was born August 2, 1935 in Rabat, Morocco.

The first Moroccan actor to have won an acting award at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, he started in the theater with Madeleine Renaud and Jean-Louis Barrault in "Les Paravents The Screens" by Jean Genet at the Odeon in 1968 .

The dark complexioned actor with a warm smile and charming eyes had a successful career in cinema.

He became one of the favorite actors of Claude Lelouch turning out 10 films with him, the first feature from director "Le propre de l'homme" in 1960.

He also starred in "A Man and a Woman,""Live for Life", "The Thug", "The Beautiful Story " and "And Now... Ladies and gentlemen . "

He was Aisha's father in the TV series of Yamina Benguigui.

Amidou also toured with renowned French director Georges Lautner ("The Suitcase") , Alain Cavalier ("La chamade") , Philippe de Broca ("La poudre d'escampette") and several films of Alexander Arcady ("L'union sacrée", "Le grand pardon 2", "Comme les cinq doigts de la main

the sacred union").

Speaking English, he had a career in the United States with William Friedkin ("The Sorcerer",

"Rules of Engagement "), Otto Preminger ("Rosebud"), John Huston ("Victory is Ours"), John Frankenheimer ("Ronin"), Tony Scott ("Spy Game").

Amidou parallel his film career while appearing regularly on television. He was last seen in the role of the father "Aicha" in the series of Yamina Benguigui .

In 2005, he received at the hands of Martin Scorsese a trophy in his honor at the opening ceremony of the Festival of Marrakech.

Amidou , who had both French and Moroccan nationality, was the father of actress Souad Hamidou .

The actor paved the way for new generations of actors from the Morocco.

The date and place of the funeral are not yet known.

AMIDOU (Mohammed Amidou Benmessaoud)

Born: 8/2/1935, Rabat, Morocco

Died: 9192013, Île de France, France

Amidou’s western – actor:

Buddy Goes West – 1981 (Cocoa/Girolamo/Adler)

↧

RIP Luciano Vincenzoni

September 22, 2013, 8:32 am

≫ Next: RIP Cándida López

≪ Previous: RIP Amidou

One of the great Italian screenwriters, Luciano Vincenzoni died in Rome today September 22 at the age of 87. Born in Treviso in 1926, he worked with Pietro Germi, for whom he wrote “Il Ferroviere”, “Seduced and Abandoned” and “The Bees”; for Dino De Laurentiis “La grande Guerra”, “Il gobo”, “I due nemici”, for Sergio Leone “For a Few Dollars More”, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and “A Fistful of Dynamite”, and for Giuseppe Tornatore “Malena”. Vincenzoni was held in high esteem in Hollywood, and was a friend of Billy Wilder. He wrote screenplays more than 60 films including 6 Euro-westerns.

VINCENZONI, Luciano

Born: 3/7/1926, Treviso, Veneto, Italy

Died: 9/22/2013, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Luciano Vincenzoni’s westerns – screenwriter:

For a Few Dollars More – 1965

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – 1966

Death Rides a Horse – 1967

The Mercenary – 1968

Duck You Sucker – 1971

Spaghetti Western 1975

↧

RIP Cándida López

September 26, 2013, 1:49 pm

≫ Next: RIP Lou Scheimer

≪ Previous: RIP Luciano Vincenzoni

Model, actress and agent, Cándida López Cano has died in Spain. Cándida was the wife of the late actor Aldo Sambrell. She was 77. Cándida was a model and then an actress who sometimes was billed as Candice Kay. After marrying Aldo in 1964 she became his agent as well as for the late Frank Braña, Luis Barboo and several other Spanish actors. Cándida and Aldo had one son Alfredo Xavier Sánchez Cavaleiro.

LÓPEZ, Cándida (Cándida López Cano)

Born: 1936, Socuéllamos, Ciudad Real, Spain

Died: 9/25/2013, Alicante, Cataluna, Spain

Cándida López’s westerns - actress

Al oeste de Río Grande - 1983 (Mrs. Sanchez) [as Candice Kay]

Cuando Éramos Pistoleros – 2012 [herself as Cándida López de Sambrell]

↧

RIP Lou Scheimer

October 19, 2013, 11:53 am

≫ Next: RIP Gianni Ferrio

≪ Previous: RIP Cándida López

Lou Scheimer (1929-2013)

Rahim Zahed
Animation Magazine

October18, 2013

We are sad to report that TV animation giant Lou Scheimer has passed away at the age of 85. The Emmy and Grammy award-winning producer, was one of the original founders of Filmation Studio (along with former Disney artist Hal Sutherland and radio announcer Norm Prescott) and the exec producer of close to 70 different TV series, such as The New Adventures of Superman, Fantastic Voyage, Aquaman, The Batman Superman Hour, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Fat Albert, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Shazam, Space Academy, Tarzan and Flash Gordon.

Children of the 1980s will best remember him for influential toons such as Ghostbusters, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra Princess of Power and BraveStarr.

Scheimer, a graduate of Carnegie-Mellon University, won a Daytime Emmy in 1975 for Star Trek and received four Daytime Emmy nominations for Best Children’s and Animated Series for his work on Star Trek and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. He received a primetime Emmy nom for the 1977 production Fat Albert Christmas Special. In 2003, ASIFA-Hollywood gave him an Annie for Special Achievement in Animation.

In addition to exec producing the Filmation toons, Scheimer also provided many of the guest or secondary voices for his studio’s well-loved animated projects. Among his many roles were N’Kima, Tarzan’s monkey pal in Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1976-1981) and Dumb Donald in Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. A multi-talented artist, he also composed the music for many of his shows.

In his later years, Scheimer underwent quadruple bypass surgery and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Scheimer was still working even as late as the April of 2012, providing consulting work for Gang of Seven Animation.

As animation veteran Tom Sito wrote on Facebook today, “Scheimer never stopped being one of the guys. He was passionate about animation and his fellow artists. It actually pained him to lay people off. In 1982 when the Guild held a city-wide strike to try and prevent all our work outsourced overseas, Lou shouldered a sign and picketed his own studio, because he agreed that work should stay in town. Lou never reneged on his promise to keep as many people working as he could. It is reassuring in this world when you see the good guys can still win. Lou Scheimer was a good guy.And I shall miss him. So Long Lou Scheimer, you did well.”

SCHEIMER, Lou (Louis Scheimer)

Born: 10/19/1928, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Died: 10/17/2013, U.S.A.

Lou Scheimer’s westerns – producer, voice actor:

The Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour (TV) – 1980 [producer]

Brave Starr (TV) – 1987-1988 [producer, voice actor]

Brave Starr: The Legend – 1988 [producer]

↧

RIP Gianni Ferrio

October 21, 2013, 8:39 am

≫ Next: RIP Irma Lozano

≪ Previous: RIP Lou Scheimer

The world of Italian music has lost one of its most important creative minds: it is off today as composer and arranger Gianni Ferrio has died at the age of 88. The artist had a long career that saw him starring on the big and small screen but also behind the scenes of the world of music, composing and arranging some of the greatest achievements made in the Italian musical tradition.

He was born Giovanni Achille Ferrio in Vicenza, Veneto, Italy and studied at conservatories of Vicenza and Venice. He started working at the end of the 1950s, and was active as a film composer of film, signing about 120 scores especially for Spaghetti westerns and sex comedies. His piece "One Silver Dollar", the main theme of the sound-track of Giorgio Ferroni's Un dollaro bucato, was later included in the sound-track of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. Ferrio was also well known for his work in pop music, particularly for his collaboration with Mina, for whom he composed, among others, "Parole parole". He was the official conductor for Sanremo Music Festival in 1959 and 1962 and for the Eurovision Song Contest 1965. He also took part, as conductor, in several important Italian TV-shows. Gianni was married to actress Alba Arnova [1930- ] since 1956.

FERRIO, Gianni (Giovanni Achille Ferrio)

Born: 11/15/1924, Vicenza, Veneto, Italy

Died: 10/21/2013, Italy

Gianni Ferrio’s westerns – composer:

A Dollar of Fear - 1960

The Magnificent Three – 1961

Heroes of the West – 1963

Massacre at Grande Canyon – 1963

Blood for a Silver Dollar - 1965

Heroes of the West - 1965

Djurado - 1966

Fort Yuma Gold - 1966