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RIP Isabella Biagini

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Farewell to Isabella Biagini, from Antonioni to the variety shows

She made her debut with the director, then came cinema and TV. He was 74 years old

The actress, show girl and imitator Isabella Biagini has died in Rome. She was 74 years old, She was hospitalized in a hospice in the capital. Born in 1943 in Rome, her real name was Concetta Biagini, she debuted in 1955 with a small part in the film The Friends of Michelangelo Antonioni. Then came her transition to TV, with comedy roles and a lot of cameos in many varieties of the Sixties and Seventies and the participation in various Italian comedies from Amore all'italiana by Steno in Boccaccio by Bruno Corbucci, and musical comedies from Non Cantare, spara (1968) with the Quartetto Cetra a Bambole, there is no lira (1978) and Once Upon a Time Rome (1979).

Ironic and irreverent, she also had a talent as an imitator, her Mina was unforgettable. Marked by a difficult love life and two failed marriages, she had a daughter Monica, who died in 1998. In 2016, she had denounced her difficult economic condition.


BIAGINI, Isabella (Concetta Biagini)
Born: 12/8/1940, Rome, Lazio, Italy
Died: 4/14/2018, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Isabaella Biagini’s western – actress, singer:
Non cantare, spara (TV) – 1967 (Bella Brackett)

RIP Jack Naughton

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RIP Jack Naughton

The New York Times
April 15, 2018

NAUGHTON--John S. "Jack", 89. Professional actor. Passed away peacefully April 4th. An elegant dresser, loved his tea and toast, music, radio, and sharing stories of life and career. We miss you, Jack, and will fondly remember you always. Memorials may be made to The Actors Fund.

NAUGHTON, Jack (John S. Naughton)
Born: 193?, U.S.A.
Died: 4/4/2018, New York City, New York, U.S.A.

Jack Naughton’s western – actor:
The Virginian (TV) – 1970 (clerk)

RIP Verland Whipple

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Verland T. Whipple
Ojai, CA

Ventura County Star
April 15, 2018.

Verland T. Whipple passed away peacefully on April 9, 2018, at the age of 88. He was born May 3, 1929, in Douglas, Arizona to William Wilford Whipple and Beatrice Thayne.

His parents were born in the Mormon Colonies in Colonia Dublan, Chihuahua, Mexico, who both died when he was young. He was the 4th of 6 children, and he remained very close to his brothers and sisters; Walden, LaRee, Velda, Cale, and Boyd. He lived with family members growing up in Mexico, New Mexico, California, Colorado and Nevada. Verland served honorably in the Central States Mission as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and immediately afterward in the US Army.

As a student at Brigham Young University, he was well known for his comedy acts and was honored for his excellence as an entertainer. In the years to follow he performed on nationwide tours with many of the well-known celebrities of the time. Together with his wife, Mary Lou Parkes Whipple, he operated the Cameo Playhouse in Hollywood, California. His love for writing resulted in dozens of screenplays for motion pictures. He produced a number of notable films including Ransom Money, and The Legend of Jedediah Carver. In his later years, living in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ojai, California; he focused his writing efforts on poetry, songs, and short stories including his book Millenium.

Verland was known for his humor and positive attitude about life. He is survived by his son Thayne Whipple; daughter-in-law Sheryl B. Whipple; grandchildren, Graham Whipple, Haven Whipple, Parkes Whipple, and Sage Whipple; as well as many loving nieces and nephews. A graveside service will be held at Miramar National Cemetery at 9:00 am on Friday the 20th of April, where he will be interred.


WHIPPLE, Verland (Verland T. Whipple)
Born: 5/3/1929, Douglas, Arizona, U.S.A.
Died: 4/9/2018, Ojai, California, U.S.A.

Verland T. Whipple’s western – producer:
The Legend of Jedediah Carver - 1967

RIP R. Lee Ermey

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R. Lee Ermey, Golden Globe Nominee for ‘Full Metal Jacket,’ Dies at 74

The Hollywood Reporter
By Kimberly Nordyke
4/15/2018

The news was announced via his official Twitter account by his longtime manager.

R. Lee Ermey, a Golden Globe-nominated actor best known for his role as Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, has died.

Ermey, whose nickname was "The Gunny," died Sunday morning from complications of pneumonia. He was 74.

The news was announced via his official twitter account by his longtime manager, Bill Rogin.

“Statement from R. Lee Ermey's long time manager, Bill Rogin:

It is with deep sadness that I regret to inform you all that R. Lee Ermey ("The Gunny") passed away this morning from complications of pneumonia. He will be greatly missed by all of us.

Semper Fi, Gunny. Godspeed.”

Ermey not only played a member of the military in the movies, but he also was one in real life, having been a U.S. Marine Corps staff sergeant and an honorary gunnery sergeant. He also served as a drill instructor for the Marines. Ermey also served 14 months in Vietnam and completed two tours in Okinawa, Japan.

Both March 24, 1944, in Emporia, Kan., Ermey's family moved to Toppenish, Wash., when he was 14. There, he became  a "troublemaker and a bit of a hell-raiser," he told the Civilian Marksmanship Program's online magazine in September 2010, and he found himself in court multiple times.

"Basically, a silver-haired judge, a kindly old judge, looked down at me and said, ‘This is the second time I've seen you up here and it looks like we're going to have to do something about this," he told CMP. "He gave me a choice. He said I could either go into the military — any branch I wanted to go to — or he was going to send me where the sun never shines. And I love sunshine, I don't know about you."

After retiring from the military with 11 years of service under his belt, Ermey took some acting classes and was cast in one of his first roles, playing a helicopter pilot in 1979's Apocalypse Now, and also serving as a technical adviser to director Francis Ford Coppola on the film. Another role he landed around that same time also hit close to home, playing a Marine drill instructor in Sidney Furie's The Boys in Company C. 

But it was his role role in Kubrick's 1987 film Full Metal Jacketthat brought him also earned him a best supporting actor award from the Boston Society of Film Critics. However, he's probably best remembered for the numerous memorable lines he delivered as the no-nonsense seargeant: including: "What is your major malfunction numbnuts? Didn't mommy and daddy show you enough attention when you were a child?" and "I want that head so sanitary and squared away that the Virgin Mary herself would be proud to go in there and take a dump."

Other films credits include Mississippi Burning, Prefontaine, the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Fletch Lives, Se7en. He also had a healthy voice-over career, playing the lead of the green plastic Army solders in the Toy Story films along with a role in SpongeBob SquarePants, among others.

More recently, he hosted Outdoor Channel's GunnyTime With R. Lee Ermey.


ERMEY, R. Lee (Ronald Lee Ermey)
Born: 3/24/1944, Emporia, Kansas, U.S.A.
Died: 4/15/2018, U.S.A.

R. Lee Ermey’s westerns – actor:
The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (TV) – 1993 (Brisco County Sr.)
Somersby – 1993 (Dick Mead)
Savate – 1995 (Benedict)
Rough Riders – 1997 (Secretary of State John Hay)
You Know My Name (TV) – 1999 (Marshal Nix)
Jericho– 2000 (Marshall)

RIP Charles Tyner

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SAG/AFTRA Magazine
Spring 2018 edition

In 1957, Tyner made his debut on Broadway, in the play Orpheus Descending. Two year later, he appeared with Paul Newman, in the Broadway play Sweet Bird of Youth. It was during 1959, that he made his film debut, with an uncredited part in That Kind of Woman. He worked with Newman again in 1967, as Boss Higgins, the sadistic prison guard in Cool Hand Luke, and became a regular character actor, appearing in films such as The Reivers, Lawman, Harold and Maude, The Cowboys and Emperor of the North Pole. One of his better known roles was alongside Burt Reynolds, in the 1974 prison comedy The Longest Yard. Another one of his better known roles was that of the evil Howard Rodman in the television series Father Murphy.

Tyner returned to the stage in 1977, but continued to appear in films. He died on November 8, 2017.


TYNER, Charles
Born: 6/8/1925, Danville, Virginia, U.S.A.
Died: 11/8/2017, U.S.A.

Charles Tyner’s westerns – actor:
The Big Valley (TV) – 1967 (Hemit)
Dundee and the Culhane (TV) – 1967 (Guilfoyle)
The Stalking Moon – 1968 (Dace)
The High Chaparral (TV) – 1969 (Gregg)
The Cheyenne Social Club – 1970 (Charlie Bannister)
Monte Walsh – 1970 (doctor)
Alias Smith and Jones (TV) – 1971 (Turner)
Lawman – 1971 (minister)
Bad Company – 1972 (egg farmer)
The Cowboys – 1972 (stonemason)
Jeremiah Johnson – 1972 (Robidoux)
Kung Fu (TV) – 1973 (Laraby)
The Outlaw Josey Wales – 1976 (Zukie Limmer)
Young Pioneers (TV) – 1976 (Mr. Benton)
Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion (TV) – 1977 (Lefty Slade)
How the West Was Won (TV) – 1979 (Eli Kelsay)
Father Murphy (TV) – 1981-1982 (Howard Rodman)
Little House on the Prairie (TV) – 1983 (Mr. Janes)
Guns of Paradise (TV) – 1988 (Herb Applegate)

RIP Naomi Stevens

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Naomi Stevens Burns

Sunset Funeral Care

Naomi Stevens-Burns passed away January 13th, 2018 in Reseda. She is an actress, known for Valley of the Dolls (1967), The Apartment (1960) and Hard Times (1975).


STEVENS, Naomi
Born: 11/29/1925, Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Died: 1/13/2018, Reseda, California, U.S.A.

Naomi Stevens’ westerns – actress:
Cheyenne (TV) – 1957 (Mama Fina)
Have Gun – Will Travel (TV) – 1957, 1962 (Marga, Ma Kafka, Maria)
Bronco (TV) – 1959 (Sevarina)
The Californians (TV) – 1959 (clerk)
Bonanza (TV) – 1960 (Touma)
Wichita Town (TV) – 1960 (Rosa Vincenti)
Rawhide (TV) – 1962, 1963 (Maria, Natana)
Empire (TV) – 1963 (Mrs. Quintero)
Wagon Train (TV) – 1964 (Hannah Moses)
The Big Valley (TV) – 1965 (Angelina)
Laredo (TV) – 1966 (Carmelita)
The Shakiest Gun in the West – 1968 (squaw)
Death Valley Days (TV) – 1968 (Juanita)

RIP Barbara Dodd

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Barbara Dodd Remsen, Actress and Casting Director, Dies at 88

The Hollywood Reporter
By Mike Barnes
April 18, 2018

She appeared on 'Leave It to Beaver' and 'The Dick Van Dyke Show,' then helped Tom Selleck, Tea Leoni and Kevin Costner get roles.

Barbara Dodd Remsen, an actress turned casting director who helped boost the careers of Tom Selleck, Tea Leoni, Kevin Costner, Pierce Brosnan and others, has died. She was 88.

Remsen died March 8 in Los Angeles, her daughter Kerry Remsen Cates announced.

Her late husband was Bert Remsen, a character actor who entered the casting profession after he suffered severe back and leg injuries when he was struck by a crane while on the set of the 1964-65 ABC comedy No Time for Sergeants.

Bert Remsen had an office at Raleigh Studios, where he worked as the head of Aaron Spelling Casting at 20th Century Fox. His wife, who had appeared on such series as Leave It to Beaver, Gunsmoke and The Dick Van Dyke Show, joined him there, then launched Remdin Casting with another former actor, Dick Dinman.

She received three Artios Awards over the next three decades while helping the likes of Selleck, Leoni, Costner, Brosnan, Vince Vaughn and Billy Bob Thornton build their acting résumés.

"She had a belief system about people and actors, that we were all possible if we could be found," Leoni said in a statement.

Barbara Dodd was born on New Year's Day in 1930 in Somerville, New Jersey. She graduated from Rutgers University, worked as a page for NBC and appeared in a hair commercial.

She came to Los Angeles and signed with a talent agency, and in 1957 she appeared as a librarian on an episode of Leave It to Beaver. She went on to work on Johnny Staccato, Wendy and Me, The Fugitive, Bewitched, Mod Squad, S.W.A.T. and other shows.

She was acting again more recently and showed up on The Pretender, According to Jim and Modern Family and in the film Employee of the Month (2006).

Bert Remsen, her husband of 40 years, eventually returned to acting after his accident, becoming a favorite of director Robert Altman. He died in April 1999 at age 74.

In addition to Kerry, Remsen is survived by another daughter, Ann; son-in-law Scott; and grandchildren Meg and Nicholas.


DODD, Barbara
Born: 6/15/1930, Somerville, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Died: 3/8/2018, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Barbara Dodd’s western – actress:
Gunsmoke (TV) – 1957 (waitress)

RIP Pepe Mediavilla

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El Mundo
April 19, 2018

Pepe Mediavilla dies, the voice of Morgan Freeman and Dr. Spock

The dubbing actor Pepe Mediavilla has died at 77 years of age. Mediavilla was the Spanish voice of Morgan Freeman, the magician Gandalf (played by Ian McKellen), Dr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), among others.

Mediavilla, born in Barcelona in 1940, was considered one of the great voice actors and began his career in 1964 after his studies in La Voz de España and in 1967 he voiced Jim Brown in Twelve of the Gibbet. A career that he completed over more than fifty years as a doubler in more than 2,800 films.

After years of dubbing secondary characters, he went on to lead roles for his work in television series, gave voice to Dr. Spock in Star Trek: the original series, in Strangers, Courage, Crazy Top and Gabriel's Passion.

In the 1990s, Mediavilla became the regular voice of Morgan Freeman and magician Gandalf, in the trilogy The Lord of the Rings by the British writer Tolkien, which gave him great popularity.

He also worked in animation giving voice to Dr. Gang in the Inspector Gadget series and his characteristic deep voice is also present in video games such as Candle and Sacred, among others.

Five years ago he launched his project on his YouTube channel linking poetry and music with Joe Atlan.


MEDIAVILLA, Pepe (José Fernández Mediavilla)
Born: 5/1/1940, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Died: 4/19/2018, Spain

Pepe Mediavilla’s westerns – voice dubber:
Cjamango – 1967 [Spanish voice of Fred Coplan]
Companeros – 1967 [Spanish voice of Eduardo Fajardo]
Ace High – 1968 [Spanish voice of Bud Spencer]
Boot Hill – 1969 [Spanish voice of Bud Spencer]
The 5-Man Army – 1969 [Spanish voice of Bud Spencer]
Sabata – 1969 [Spanish voice of Marco Zuanelli]
El Condor – 1970 [Spanish voice of unknown actor]
A Man Called Sledge – 1970 [Spanish voice of Claude Akins]
Sartana in the Valley of Death – 1970 [Spanish voice of unknown actor]
Blindman – 1971 [Spanish voice of Renato Romano]
Return of Sabata – 1971 [Spanish voice of Ignazio Spalla]
Chato’s Land – 1972 [Spanish voice of James Whitmore]
The Grand Duel – 1972 [Spanish voice of unknown actor]
Deaf Smith and Johnny Ears – 1973 [Spanish voice of Lorenzo Fineschi]
The Spikes Gang – 1974 [Spanish voice of Allen Russell]
The White, the Yellow and the Black – 1975 [Spanish voice of Nazzareno Zamperla]
A Man Called Blade – 1975 [Spanish voice of unknown actor]
Asterix in America – 1994 [Spanish voice of Abraracurcix]
Cold Mountain – 2003 [Spanish voice of James Gammon]

RIP Julie Van Zandt

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The Malibu Times
January 23, 2018

On Thursday, Jan. 11, Julie Van Zandt May—wife, mother, daughter, sister and longtime Malibu resident—died in Santa Monica after a brief illness at the age of 88. Julie was born in La Jolla, Calif., to Logan and Lineta Marqua Van Zandt, and soon after, moved with her family to Los Angeles where she attended the Westlake School for Girls. Julie successfully pursued an acting career for many years in Hollywood, followed by later acclaim as a landscape artist, sport fishing enthusiast and all-around great cook. Julie loved to fish and held the Guinness World record for the biggest Needlefish ever caught. Painting became her passion soon after she and her husband, Fred, moved to Malibu in 1966. They later founded the Malibu Art Festival and she was an active member of the Malibu Art Association. Her large mural depicting the Chumash Indians hangs in the Malibu Lagoon Museum. She and Fred were awarded Malibu Co-Citizens of the year in 1976. In 2005, she received a commendation from the City of Malibu for her outstanding contributions to the community through her art and for representing Malibu’s ideals in a positive manner.

Julie was married to noted television director Richard L. Bare of “Green Acres” and “Twilight Zone” fame from 1951 to 1957. In 1966, she married Frederick C. May, well-known Malibu businessman and sportsman, and founding president of the Malibu Lagoon Museum. She is preceded in death by her beloved husband Fred; her daughter Cathryn Alpert; her sister Helen Van Zandt; and her brother Jack Van Zandt. Julie is survived by her son Jon Bare; stepdaughters Judy May and Laurie May Canty; stepson Fred May Jr; and 10 grandchildren.

“Julie loved to sing, paint, fish, entertain and laugh,” a loved one said. “We will miss her dearly in every role.”

Memorial donations in memory of Julie can be made to the Malibu Adamson House Foundation (adamsonhouse.org) or to the Malibu Art Association.


Van ZANDT, Julie
Born: 6/27/1929, San Diego, California, U.S.A.
Died: 1/11/2018, Santa Monica, California, U.S.A.

Julie Van Zabndt’s westerns – actress:
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (TV) – 1956 (Cora Gill)
Gunsmoke (TV) – 1957 (Jennifer Myers)
Broken Arrow (TV) – 1958 (Sister Margaret)
Zorro (TV) – 1958 (Magdalena Montes)
Tales of Wells Fargo (TV) – 1959 (Lucy Haney)
Bronco (TV) – 1962 (Sister Mary Agnes)
Lawman (TV) – 1962 (Marcia Smith)

RIP Kevin Colson

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Diamond Management
April 18, 2018

Today we say goodbye to the wonderful Kevin Colson who passed away peacefully aged 79. He will be remembered for his incredible talent and very cheeky sense of humour! Kev was greatly loved and will be sorely missed. Rest in peace dear man


COLSON, Kevin
Born: 8/28/1937, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died: 4/18/2018, Australia

Kevin Colson’s western – actor:
Whiplash (TV) – 1961 (Kubley, Robbie MacReady)

RIP George Touliatos

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RIP George Touliatos


George was born on December 9, 1929 and passed away on Friday, December 8, 2017.

George was a resident of Bellingham, Washington at the time of passing.


TOULIATOS, George
Born: 12/9/1929, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.
Died: 12/8/2017, Bellingham, Washington, U.S.A.

George Touliatos’ westerns – actor:
Lonesome Dove: The Series (TV) – 1995 (Pa)
Dead Man’s Gun (TV) – 1998 (Dr. Thomas Moorehead)

RIP Demeter Bitenc

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The legendary Slovenian player Demeter Bitenc has died

Slovenian drama and film actor Demeter Bitenc died.In his seventy-year career, he has created over 230 theater and film roles.Julia would have reached 96 years.
 
Sio1.net
April 22, 2018

He received his first film experience in the first Slovene feature On Your Country.At the age of seventy years he has created more than 230 theater and film roles, riding on Old Shatterhand in the first part of Vinetou, and later on, he wanted to play the role of bad guys, reports the MMC Radiotelevizija Slovenija.


Bitenc, born on 21 July 1922 in Ljubljana, spent his childhood and youth in Gorenjska.He graduated from the Trade Academy in Ljubljana, but already during his studies he was impressed by theater, film and acting.During the war, he attended private lessons with the theater actor and director Slavko Jan, and in 1943 he made an audition for admission to the ensemble of the Ljubljana Drama.After the end of the war, he completed four more semesters at the newly established Academy of Art in Ljubljana.
 
Between 1943 and 1954 he was a member of SNG Drama Ljubljana, then went to the Croatian National Theater in Rijeka, where he worked until 1958. For this he worked for some time in Belgrade and SLG Celje.As he explained in one of the interviews for STA, he had some love affair in Drama, which became problematic, so he decided to go.In order to replace the theater, he had to obtain the permission of the Republic Secretariat for Culture.
 
He often appeared in uniforms of German soldiers.

He first received a short film experience in his first feature film, France Stiglitz. On his land in 1948, he became a real film debut in 1959 with a later role of a German officer in the film Good Old Piano.In the next decade, he recorded nearly 40 co-production films shot by foreign producers in the then Yugoslavia.He often appeared in uniforms of German soldiers.
 
He played in more than 40 Slovene films, played the second role in the films of Yugoslav republics and co-productions.He performed in lateral and episodic roles, often in the role of negative characters, he played the only title role in Robert Mauri's historical drama Rabanek, the devilish pirate in 1963.
 
Recipient of the media legend award

The player's television opus is also rich in more than 80 films and series produced in the production of Slovenian television, produced by other Yugoslav republics and foreign television companies that were filmed in the former Yugoslavia, according to the Museum of Slovene Film Players in Divača, who dedicated his traditional Gift Event to the museum last year.
 
In 2007 he received a prize for a media legend, he was a regular guest at social events.


BITENC, Demeter
Born:7/21/1922, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Died: 4/22/2018, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Demeter Bitenc’s westerns – actor:
Apache Gold -1963 (Dick Stone),
Legend of a Gunfighter - 1964
Bandits of the Rio Grande – 1965 (Elgaut)
Duel at Sundown -1965 (Mack)
Starblack – 1966 (Burt)
Ballad of a Gunman -1967 (Bradley)

RIP Pamela Gidley

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Pamela Gidely dead at the age of 52

She was known for her performance of Teresa Banks, Laura Palmer’s friend and killer’s victim, in Twin Peaks – Fire Walk with Me

BFM TV
4/23/2018

Actress Pamela Gidley died on April 16 at the age of 52, the Lynchland - David Lynch Archivist page has been announced on Facebook.She was known for her portrayal of Teresa Banks, Laura Palmer's friend and killer's first victim, in Twin Peaks - Fire Walk with Me , adaptation of David Lynch's cult series, The causes of her death are not known.
 
Born June 11, 1965, she began her career in 1986 playing in an episode of season 2 of MacGyver .The following year, she played in the cult movie Cherry 2000 with Melanie Griffith.In the early 1990s, she crosses the path of David Lynch, who prepares the film adaptation of his Twin Peaks series.From the shoot, the actress keeps a burning memory:

"It was summer and you know how well Twin Peaks is known for its wool sweaters, we were in Seattle and it was hot to die in. We were shooting in a motel room with Ray Wise [the actor] Leland Palmer, Laura's father, Ed] and I was sweaty, I was asking for a fan and Ray said to me after half an hour, 'I can not, Pamela, David does not want 'there to be any ventilation'."
 
After Twin Peaks , Pamela Gidley appeared in several series like The Chameleon and The Experts.In the cinema, she also played in The Prince of Sicily Jim Abrahams, parody of mafia movies.

 
GIDLEY, Pamela (Pamela Catherine Gidley)
Born: 6/11/1965, Merhuen, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Died:  4/16/2018, Seabrook, New Hampshire, U.S.A.

Pamela Gidley’s westerns – actress:
Cherry 2000 – 1987 (Cherry 2000)
Paper Hearts – 1993 (Samantha)

RIP Philip D'Antoni

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Philip D’Antoni, ‘The French Connection’ Producer, Dies at 89

Variety
By Christi Carras
4/23/2018

Philip D’Antoni, who produced Oscar-winning films like “The French Connection” and “Bullitt,” died at age 89 on April 15. The producer died at his home in New York.

D’Antoni was best known for the 1971 crime drama “The French Connection,” which won three Golden Globes and five Oscars, including best picture. Gene Hackman won for best actor and William Friedkin for best director and the film also won best adapted screenplay and best film editing. Also on the late producer’s resume is the Steve McQueen action flick “Bullitt,” which won an Oscar for film editing.

TV documentaries like “Elizabeth Taylor in London,” “Sophia Loren in Rome,” and the “Proud Land” miniseries made up much of D’Antoni’s early work in Hollywood in the early 1960s. “Bullitt” marked his first feature film producing credit in 1968, and from there he went on to produce “The French Connection” before returning to TV later in life. D’Antoni rounded out his career with TV titles like “Mr. Inside/Mr. Outside,” “Strike Force,” and the Roy Scheider crime series “The Seven-Ups,” which he also directed.

His final TV series, “Movin’ On,” ran for two seasons on NBC from 1974 to 1976. D’Antoni created and wrote for the show, which followed a team of truckers on their cross-country adventures.

D’Antoni is survived by his wife, five children, and nine grandchildren. Friedkin took to Twitter on Monday to mourn his “French Connection” partner. “Phil D’Antoni. My friend and the great producer Of The French Connection has died,” Friedkin wrote. “Phil D’Antoni. My friend and the great producer of The French Connection has died. May he Rest In peace”.


D’ANTONI, Philip
Born: 2/19/1920, New York City, New York, U.S.A.
Died: 4/15/2018, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, U.S.A.

Philip D’Antoni’s western – producer:
This Proud Land - 1966

RIP Bob Dorough

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The Wrap
By Tim Kenneally
April 23, 2018


Bob Dorough, the jazz musician who was instrumental in the 1970s educational cartoon series “Schoolhouse Rock!” died Monday in Mt. Bethel, Pennsylvania, a spokesperson for Dorough told TheWrap. He was 94.

During his run with “Schoolhouse Rock!” Dorough wrote and performed iconic numbers including “My Hero, Zero” and “Three Is a Magic Number.”

Dorough, born in Arkansas and raised in Texas, took to music early, joining his high school’s band and serving three years in a special services army band unit.

Dorough was an accompany player, arranger and conductor for a number of years before recording his first effort of his own, “Devil May Care,” in 1956 for the Bethlehem label. Among the artists Dorough worked with was Miles Davis, recording “Nothing Like You” and “Blue Xmas,” both of which Dorough composed, with Davis in 1962.

“In 1971 he received a commission to ‘set the multiplication tables to music.’ This led to a small industry, being the beginning of ABC-TV’s ‘Schoolhouse Rock,’ Saturday morning cartoons that entertained and instructed unsuspecting children during the years 1973-1985,” Dorough’s biography reads.

The bio adds, “The impact of this media exposure was unpredictably immense. The show came back for another five years in the 90’s and is now enjoying its 40th anniversary with a DVD edition of the entire, five-subject series, for which Dorough worked as the Musical Director.”


In 1995, Dorough signed with the prestigious Blue Note Records label, recording three CDs — “Right on My Way Home,” “Too Much Coffee Man” and “Who’s On First” — for the label.


DOROUGH, Bob (Robert Dorough)
Born: 12/12/1923, Cherry Hill, Arkansas, U.S.A.
Died: 4/23/2018, Mt. Bethel, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Bob Dorough’s western – actor:

RIP Arthur B. Rubinstein

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‘WarGames’ Composer Arthur B. Rubinstein Dies at 80

Variety
By Tara Bitran
April 24, 2018

Arthur B. Rubinstein, composer for films such as “War Games” who worked on more than 300 films and television programs, died April 23 of complications resulting from cancer. He was 80.

In the 1960s, Rubinstein composed incidental music for around 50 productions while serving as composer-in-residence for the American Conservatory Theater, the Williamstown Theater Festival, and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. He continued on in the 1970s serving as a music director, both in Los Angeles and on Broadway, for shows such as “A Chorus Line,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and “Evita.” Rubinstein received an L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for his work as music director on Gordon Davidson’s production of “A Little Night Music.”

After moving to Los Angeles, Rubinstein composed scores for films such as “WarGames” (1983) starring Matthew Broderick, and Albert Brooks’ “Lost in America” (1985). Rubinstein earned an Emmy Award for his original music on CBS series “Scarecrow and Mrs. King.” He also scored “Shooting War,” Stephen Spielberg’s documentary narrated by Tom Hanks about WWII newsreel cameramen for ABC Television.

Rubinstein was also a frequent collaborator with director John Badham, working on films including “Whose Life Is It Anyway?” (1981), “Blue Thunder” (1983), “Stakeout” (1987) featuring Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez, “The Hard Way” (1991), “Another Stakeout” (1993), and “Nick of Time” (1995) with Christopher Walken and Johnny Depp.

In 1994, Rubinstein founded Symphony in the Glen with his wife Barbara Ferris. They presented over 60 free classical concerts to over 80,000 families and children in Los Angeles across their 20-year run.

Rubinstein’s most recent compositions include “Observations,” which premiered in 2009 at the Griffith Observatory in a special concert in honor of the International Year of the Astronomer and the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s achievements.

“In classical music and jazz there is a constant, living swirl of wonder and discovery — both sensual and intellectual. As a composer and conductor, I’ve always tried, in some way, to be part of that swirl,” Rubinstein wrote on his website.

Rubinstein is survived by his wife, Barbara Ferris Rubinstein, and his daughter, Alexandra Nan Rubinstein.


RUBINSTEIN, Arthur B.
Born: 3/31/1938, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.
Died: 4/23/2018, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Arthur B. Rubinstein’s westerns – composer:
Sawyer and Finn (TV) – 1983
Once Upon a Texas Train (TV) – 1988
Where the Hell’s The Gold ?!!? (TV) - 1988

RIP Sylvie Short

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RIP Sylvie Short

Santa Barbara Independent
April 25, 2018

Sylvia Short blew the roof off the Center Stage Theater in her 2017 performance as Elizabeth Bishop in Sarah Ruhl’s Dear Elizabeth. Her participation in the fundraiser for Center Stage was her final triumph in a long and distinguished career in theater and film. She was ever a Shakespeare aficionado, unparalleled storyteller, and singer of Irish songs, and she loved Santa Barbara and its ocean.

Born in 1927 in Concord, Massachusetts, Sylvia attended Smith College, studying acting with Hallie Flanagan Davis; after graduating, she trained on a two-year Fulbright at the Old Vic Theatre School in London. On her return to the States, she studied with Uta Hagen, winning the Barter Theatre Award, bestowed by Fredric March, in 1952, after which she toured the country with the Barter performing repertory, the first of her many Shakespearean roles that of Portia in The Merchant of Venice.

In The Taming of the Shrew, she played Kate opposite Fritz Weaver, her fellow Barter Theatre Award winner; he became her leading man in real life. They married and moved to New York to begin their careers on the New York stage in 1954. In 1956, Sylvia was cast as Regan in Orson Welles’s production of King Lear; Welles was so bowled over at her audition that he offered her the role on the spot.

While raising her two children in New York City on a hiatus from acting, Sylvia earned her PhD in marine biology, eventually teaching it at NYU, oceanic life being one of her fascinations. She returned to the theater in the late ’70s, teaching at Juilliard and performing in plays at the Phoenix Theatre, American Place, and Manhattan Theatre Club, among others, as well as in Broadway shows such as Hugh Leonard’s Da. She appeared in Marjorie Kellogg’s play The Smile of the Cardboard Man in a production at HB Studio.

Marjorie Kellogg was the second great love of Sylvia’s life. The two moved to Santa Barbara in 1990, and Sylvia entered the world of regional theater, playing Lady Bracknell at the Guthrie Theater and touring in many productions at La Jolla Playhouse and the Actors Theatre of Louisville, among others. In California she appeared in TVshows and movies (including The Birdcage with Robin Williams) before becoming the doyenne of the theater scene in Santa Barbara.

In Santa Barbara, Sylvia was in her element. Her love of the ocean was one of her defining features; in her 90 years on both coasts, she came to know the moods and intricacies of both the Atlantic and the Pacific. An ace body surfer, a sailor, an inveterate snorkeler, and a whale docent and volunteer at the Marine Center, she also voluntarily did research involving plankton samples at Ellwood Pier in a study of algae blooms. When she wasn’t in or on the ocean, she was singing with the Master Chorale, music being another of her myriad passions.

Her wide-ranging interests and talents were all fulfilled with a dedication and an excellence that informed everything she undertook, but it was the theater in Santa Barbara where she shone brightest. In 1990, she joined the Ensemble Theatre, playing in Gertrude Stein and a Companion (1992 Drama-Logue Award), Lettice and Lovage, and A Perfect Ganesh, among many others, including Painting Churches (1994 Drama-Logue Award), and The Road to Mecca, winning an Independent theater award.

She went on to star in The Beauty Queen of Leenane at City College and Last Days of the Empire at Center Stage, and appeared many times in the Speaking of Stories programs. With each production, she engendered profound and lasting connections with other actors as well as writers and directors.
In her later years she taught an informal Shakespeare workshop at her home, encouraging her students to stretch beyond their perceived limits, to embrace Shakespeare’s language; her mantra was “Let his words tell you what to do.” Her students adored her for her energy and passion, her wit and intellect, and her generosity in sharing her wealth of experience and knowledge, not to mention her sometimes ribald, always fascinating theater stories.

Sylvia died on Saturday, April 14, at Cottage Hospital with her children by her side. She was 90.
Hers was a long life, well lived and well loved. Sylvia garnered many devoted friends of all generations. They admired her for demonstrating what’s possible in one’s third act and applauded her talent, fierce energy, and passion for life, which she carried to the end.

She is survived by her children, Lydia and Tony Weaver; their spouses, Bruce Ostler and Luciana Maiorana, respectively; and her beloved grandson, Sam Ostler.

A memorial is in the planning stages for early October.


SHOIRT, Sylvie (Sylvia Short)
Born: 10/22/1927, Concord, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Died: 4/14/2018, Santa Barbara, California, U.S.A.

Sylvie Short’s western – actress:
Walker, Texas Ranger (TV) – 1994 (Thelma Beck)

RIP Charles Neville

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Neville Brothers saxophonist Charles Neville dies at 79

The New Orleans Advocate
By Keith Spera
April 26, 2018

Neville Brothers saxophonist Charles Neville died Thursday of pancreatic cancer in Massachusetts, where he had lived for many years. He was 79.

His brother Aaron Neville confirmed his death to WWL-TV.

Charles Neville was the second oldest of the four brothers who, for three decades, formed the core of the Neville Brothers, one of the most important and influential bands to emerge from New Orleans. For many years, the Neville Brothers were the closing act on the final Sunday of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

In addition to his own considerable musical contributions, Neville was the father of popular singer Charmaine Neville, a familiar presence on local stages.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Charles grew up on Valence Street and in the Calliope housing development. In the 1950s, he toured with bands that backed such rhythm & blues stars as Johnny Ace, Jimmy Reed and B.B. King. He enlisted in the Navy in 1956 and was stationed in Memphis.

“I was really bummed out until I found Beale Street,” he said in an August 2017 interview with Gwen Thompkins, host of "Music Inside Out," which airs locally on WWNO-FM.

He joined singer Larry Williams’ band, but his music career was soon sidelined. As he described in the “The Brothers," the Neville Brothers' 2000 autobiographical oral history, he fell into a life of crime and addiction; he fought alternating cycles of heroin and methadone for two decades.

In the early 1960s, he served time at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for possession of marijuana. He rehearsed in the prison’s music room, collaborating with other incarcerated New Orleans musicians, including pianist James Booker and drummer James Black.

He moved to New York in the late 1960s, gigging with various artists. He finally returned to New Orleans at the behest of his uncle, George Landry, also known as Big Chief Jolly of the Wild Tchoupitoulas tribe of Mardi Gras Indians. Landry brought nephews Charles, Aaron, Art and Cyril together for the recording sessions for the 1976 album "The Wild Tchoupitoulas."

That collaboration gave birth to the Neville Brothers. Intermingling funk, soul and New Orleans rhythm and blues, they catapulted to national acclaim in the 1980s.

Charles Neville, who finally shook his addiction in 1986 via an intensive program in Eugene, Oregon, supplied one of the band's sonic signatures via his saxophone.

It snaked through the title track of the classic 1989 album “Yellow Moon" and that album's “Healing Chant.""Healing Chant" won a Grammy for best pop instrumental performance, the Neville Brothers’ only Grammy win.

Onstage, Aaron often introduced Charles as "Charlie the horn man."

A strict vegetarian and adherent of various Eastern spiritual philosophies, Charles told Thompkins he brought a “calming, centering energy” to the Neville Brothers.

He also led his own jazz combos, which performed at Snug Harbor whenever he was in town. After the Neville Brothers called it quits in 2012, he continued to tour as a member of Aaron Neville’s solo band. He was onstage when Aaron made his French Quarter Festival debut in 2017. Charles performed with Dr. John's band during last year's Jazz Fest.

He moved to rural Massachusetts in the 1990s; his wife’s parents gave the couple land on which to build a house. He has also said that he was eager to get away from the crime in New Orleans.

In Massachusetts, he performed with two of his sons as the New England Nevilles.

He was slated to take part in the Neville Family Groove, a celebration of the Nevilles legacy at Tipitina’s in November 2017. However, he was hospitalized at the time and unable to perform.

A benefit concert to raise money for his medical and living expenses was held Feb. 3 at the Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton, Massachusetts. Scheduled performers included Aaron Neville, Charmaine Neville and Charles' son Khalif, a pianist.

At the time, Charles was still hospitalized and too weak to perform.

Funeral arrangements are pending.


NEVILLE, Charles
Born: 12/28/1938, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A.
Died: 4/26/2018, Huntington, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Chrles Neville’s western – singer, musician, songwriter:
Posse – 1993 [“Let That Hammer Fall”]

RIP Gregorio Casal

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Gregorio Casal, the hero, the heartthrob and unforgettable villain of national cinema.

The director and Mexican actor Gregorio Casal, passed away this Wednesday in Tepatitlán, Jalisco at 82 years old

24 Horas
By Karla Mora
April 26, 2018

The head of the Government of Mexico City,José Ramón Amieva, informed that the local Comptroller has 30 open investigations against public officials, to determine if they committed illegal acts, within the framework of the electoral process.
 
As part of these investigations, two public servants of a delegation have already been suspended, who used an official vehicle for the distribution of pantries.
 
After the presentation of the Lists for Police Bodies for the Attention of Electoral Crimes, the president said that the capital government has two primary obligations in the campaigns
 
The first is to ensure that all public officials of the local administration comply with their work hours and duties;and the second, to verify that no type of resource has been diverted for electoral purposes.
Both the 30 investigations and the two suspensions are carried out since the start of the pre-campaign period.
 
"We are going to attend the instances, we are going to respect the norm and we are going to coordinate with all the electoral instances;and at no time are we going to mix, interfere or be subject to or allow to be the object of political accusations.We are going to keep within the institutional, "he said.
 
The official clarified that, because these are processes under investigation, responsibilities have not yet been established, but measures have been taken, such as the suspension of duties of public servants.
 
He assured that, in order to have certainty in the actions of the Government, the visits to the work centers of local public officials will continue, in order to act opportunely in cases of irregularities.


CASAL, Gregorio (José de Casillas Rabago)
Born: 7/13/1935, San Miguel el Alto, Jalisco, Mexico
Died: 4/25/2018

Gregorio Casal’s westerns – actor:
Por mis pistolas – 1968 (Pedro Sanchez)
The Two Brothers – 1971 (Juan Luis)
Mercenaries of Death – 1983 (Mai ko)
El fugitive de Sonora - 1989

RIP Del Carnes

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Denver Post
April 28, 2018

Del Carnes, the Former Entertainment Editor of The Denver Post from 1960 to 1970, passed away April 16, 2018 from liver cancer. He was born in Wichita Kansas to Lucille and Merle Carnes. At age 19 he sold his first national freelance article to Official Detective Magazine while working as a reporter on the Wichita Beacon. His story, "I almost forgot I killed her" was the cover story. In 1954 he became the youngest person ever to win the Pell Mell Big Story Award. This was an award for "Distinguished service to his community in the field of journalism". His story was dramatized for National Radio on NBC. He moved to Denver Colorado in 1955 accepting a job on the Denver Post. There he met his future wife Barbara Pitts (a nurse at Denver General Hospital) while working on a story about how emergency rooms operate. They were married a year later, and in 1960 he and Barbara celebrated the birth of their first son Philip. That same year, Del became the entertainment editor of the newspaper. As entertainment editor, his job was to review television, radio, movies, and theater. This took him to Hollywood, New York, Europe, and of course all throughout the Colorado area. He quickly became friends with celebrities such as Ed Sullivan, Rod Serling, and Walter Winchell. As well as interviewing everyone from Liberace, to Bing Crosby. He would proudly display a telegram from Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz congratulating him on the birth of their second son Gary in 1963. In 1964 began writing scripts for television, including a number of scripts for Death Valley Days and Combat. Also appeared as an actor and a writer in several episodes of Death Valley Days. In 1970, Del retired from the Denver Post to begin his life as an entrepreneur, Investing in real estate as well as opening several retail stores across Colorado. Including "Mrs. Mayp's Cake and Food Decorating" which operated in Denver for more than 30 Years. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 28 at 11 AM at the Northglenn United Church of Christ,10500 Grant Drive Northglenn, CO 80233. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Arvada Animal Urgent Care, 12520 W. 64tth. Arvada, Co. 80004. C/O The Philip and Tripper Carnes Fund.


CARNES, Del (Delvin Ray Carnes)
Born: 1/4/1931, Wichita, Kansas, U.S.A.
Died: 4/16/1918, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, U.S.A.

Del Carnes western – actor, writer:
Death Valley Days (TV) – 1965 (Palmer)
Death Valley Days (TV) – 1965-1966 [writer]
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