PETER ARMITAGE, 79 - November 30, 2018
British actor Peter Armitage, who was noted for his role as Bill Webster on the soap opera "Coronation Street", died of a heart attack in England on November 30, 2018. Armitage was born in Skipton, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, on October 23, 1939. He worked as an engineer and served in the merchant navy before aspiring to be an actor. He trained as an actor in Essex at the East 15 Acting School, and performed in repertory at the Sheffield Playhouse. He appeared frequently on television from the early 1970s, with roles in the series "Justice", "The Befrienders" as Chuck in 1972, "The Pathfinders" (1972), "Softly Softly: Task Force", "The Sweeney", "The Hanged Man", "Churchill's People", "Days of Hope", "Centre Play", "Couples" as Cyril Skinner in 1976, "Lucky Feller" as Randy Mepstead in 1976, "Rosie", "Crown Court", "The Rag Trade", "The Professionals", "ITV Playhouse", "Strangers", "Charlie", "In Loving Memories", "Rockliffe's Babies", "Bulman", "Lovejoy", "Woof!", "Screen Two", "In Suspicious Circumstances", "Plaza Patrol", "Sam Saturday" as Jim Butler in 1992, "Medics", "The Bill", "Harry", "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles", "Peak Practice", "Chandler & Co.", "The Vet", "Heartbeat", "Fat Friends", "Holby City", "Emmerdale" as Wilf Butler in 2003, "Magic Grandad" in the title role in 2003, "The Royal", "Casualty", "Sorted", and "Doctors". He was also seen in productions of "They Disappear When You Lie Down" (1974), "Grease Monkey" (1976), "Jack the Ripper" (1988) as Sergeant Kerby, "Parnell & the Englishwoman" (1991), "Chimera" (1991), "G.B.H." (1991), "Mr. Wroe's Virgins" (1993), "Hearts and Minds" (1995), "Circles of Deceit: Sleeping Dogs" (1996), "Dockers" (1999), and "The Second Coming" (2003). Armitage had a small role in the soap opera "Coronation Street" in 1977. He portrayed Bill Webster briefly on the series in 1984. He returned to the role from 1995 to 1997, and again from 2006 to 2011. Armitage also appeared in the 2001 film "The Parole Officer". He was married to actress Annabel Scase from 1970 until their divorce in the early 1980s. He is survived by their son and daughter.
ETHEL AYLER, 88 - November 18, 2018
Actress Ethel Ayler, who was featured as the mother of Clair Huxtable on "The Cosby Show", died in Loma Linda, California, on November 18, 2018. Ayler was born in Whistler, Alabama, on May 1, 1930. She attended Fisk University in Nashville where she studied voice and trained as a singer. She moved to Chicago to sing in 1946, and began acting with a touring production of "Porgy and Bess". She moved to New York City in the 1950s, where she was a member of the Negro Ensemble Company. She performed in an off-Broadway production of Langston Hughes' musical "Simply Heavenly" in 1957, and made her Broadway debut later in the year in "Jamaica" as an understudy for Lena Horne. Her other Broadway credits include "The Cool World" (1960), "Kwamina" (1961), "Black Picture Show" (1975), "The First Breeze of Summer" (1975), "Fences" (1987), and "The Little Foxes" (1997). She appeared on television in episodes of "Play of the Week", "CBS Repertoire Workshop", "The Andros Targets", the soap opera "Ryan's Hope" as Nurse Constance Small in 1981, "Day by Day", "Family Ties", "Jake and the Fatman", "I'll Fly Away", "Sisters", "Martin", "Sister, Sister", "Fudge", "The Young and the Restless", "Melrose Place", "Friends", "Brooklyn South", "Girlfriends", "Six Feet Under", "Out of Practice", and "7th Heaven". She appeared in the recurring role of Carrie Hanks, the mother of Phylicia Rashad's Claire Huxtable on the hit sit-com "The Cosby Show" from 1984 to 1992. Her other television credits include the tele-films "Stormy Weathers" (1992), "The Wedding" (1998), and "Fire & Ice" (2001). She was featured in a handful of films including "Time of the Heathen" (1962), "Come Back Charleston Blue" (1972), "Lord Shango" (1975), "9 1/2 Weeks" (1986), "To Sleep with Anger" (1990), "The Bodyguard" (1992), and "Eve's Bayou" (1997).
BUNI BACON, 79 - December 16, 2018
Actress and author Nancy 'Buni' Bacon, died in Gig Harbor, Washington, on December 16, 2018. She was born in Ellensburg, Washington, on August 16, 1939. She left home in her teens to work as a cocktail waitress in Las Vegas. She settled in Hollywood in the late 1950s, where she was a roommate of Marilyn Monroe. She posed as a pinup model, and was featured in the films "The Private Lives of Adam and Eve" (1960) and "Sex Kittens Go to College" (1960). She married guitarist Don Wilson of The Ventures in 1963, and they had a daughter, Staci Layne Wilson, before divorcing in 1967. She served as a trainer of big cats, including Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion and Zamba. Bacon embarked on a career as a writer, publishing her first novel later in the decade. She also served as editor of "Confidential" magazine and wrote a gossip column. She was author of the memoir "Stars in My Eyes... Stars in My Bed" in 1980. She was also author of the romance novels "Love and Dreams", "Bayou Lady", "Champagne and Roses", and "The Love Game". She was co-author of Kevin Ammons' "Good Girl Bad Girl: An Insider's Biography of Whitney Houston". She and her daughter Staci, who was also an author, wrote the memoir "Legends and Lipstick: My Scandalous Stories of Hollywood's Golden Era" in 2017.
KAYE BALLARD, 93 - January 21, 2019
Actress and comedienne Kaye Ballard died of kidney cancer at her home in Rancho Mirage, California, on January 21, 2019. She was born Catherine Gloria Balotta in Cleveland, Ohio, on November 20, 1925. She began performing on stage in burlesque and vaudeville while in her teens. She was featured in the revue "Three to Make Ready" in the early 1940s, and toured with productions of "Touch and Go" and "Top Banana". She joined Spike Jones' orchestra as a singer and comic tuba player in 1946. She performed on Broadway in productions of "Top Banana" (1951), "The Golden Apple" (1954), "Carnival!" (1961), "The Beast in Me" (1963), "Molly" (1973), "The Pirates of Penzance" (1981). She appeared frequently on television from the early 1950s, appearing in episodes of "Abe Burrows' Almanac", "Henry Morgan's Great Talent Hunt", "The Mel Torme Show", "The U.S. Royal Showcase", "Nothing But the Best", "Your Chevrolet Showroom", "The Colgate Comedy Hour", "The Arthur Murray Party", "The NBC Comedy Hour", "The Patrice Munsel Show", "Kraft Theatre", "The Chevy Showroom Starring Andy Williams", "The Garry Moore Show", "Play Your Hunch", "The Tonight Show", "The Jack Paar Tonight Show", "Candid Camera", "Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall", "The Ed Sullivan Show", "International Cabaret", "Missing Links", "I've Got a Secret", "To Tell the Truth", "The Hollywood Palace", "The Hollywood Squares", "The Art Linkletter Show", "The Kraft Music Hall", "The Jerry Lewis Show", "What's It All About, World?", and "Allen Ludden's Gallery". She was featured as a wicked stepsister in a 1957 television productions of "Cinderella", and was seen in episodes of "Play of the Week", "The Patty Duke Show", and "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In". She was the voice of Lucy on the "Peanuts" album in 1962. Ballard starred with Eve Arden in the comedy series "The Mothers-In-Law" as Kaye Buell from 1967 to 1969, and was Angie Pallucci in "The Doris Day Show" from 1970 to 1972. Her other television credits include episodes of "The Red Skelton Hour", "Here's Lucy", "Love, American Style", "The Montefuscos", "Police Story", "Alice", "Flying High", "Della", "The Leslie Uggams Show", "Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters", "Philbin's People", "The Engelbert Humperdinck Show", "Sandler and Young's Kraft Music Hall", "The Bob Hope Show", "The Dick Cavett Show", "The David Frost Show", "The Carol Burnett Show", "The $10,000 Pyramid", "Fantasy Island", "Broadway on Showtime", "Match Game", "The Bob Braun Show", "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", "Dinah!", "The Muppet Show", "The Merv Griffin Show", "The Mike Douglas Show", "Doris Day's Best Friends", "The Love Boat", "Here's Boomer", "Trapper John, M.D.", "Young People's Specials", "The Law and Harry McGraw", "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!", "Monsters", "The Munsters Today", "What a Dummy" as Mrs. Treva Traalony from 1990 to 1991, "Daddy Dearest", "The Rosie O'Donnell Show", and "Due South" in the recurring role of Mrs. Vecchio in 1994. She was also seen in the mini-series "The Dream Merchants" (1980) and the tele-film "Irene" (1981). Ballard appeared in occasional films throughout her career, with roles in "The Girl Most Likely" (1958), "A House Is Not a Home" (1964), "Which Way to the Front?" (1970), "The Ritz" (1976), "Freaky Friday" (1976), "Falling in Love Again" (1980), "Pandemonium" (1982), "The Perils of P.K." (1986), "Tiger Warsaw" (1988), "Modern Love" (1990), "Eternity" (1990), "Fate" (1990), "Joey Takes a Cab" (1991), "Ava's Magical Adventure" (1994), "The Modern Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1998), "Baby Geniuses" (1999), "The Million Dollar Kid" (2000), and the animated "Little Insects" (2000) as the voice of Queen Palooma. She continued to perform on stage in regional and touring productions until her retirement in 2015. She wrote her memoir, "How I Lost 10 Pounds in 53 Years", in 2006.
WENDY BECKETT, 88 - December 26, 2018
Sister Wendy Beckett, who was host of several BBC television documentaries on art, died in Quidenham, Norfolk, England, on December 26, 2018. Beckett was born in South Africa on February 25, 1930, and was raised in Edinburgh, Scotland. She entered the sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1946, and completed her novitiate in England. She studied English Literature at St. Anne's College, Oxford and earned a teaching diploma from Notre Dame College of Education in Liverpool in 1954. She returned to South Africa to teach at the Notre Dame Convent school for girls in Constantia, Cape Town, for the next fifteen years. She later served as a lecturer at Johannesburg's University of Witwatersrand. She was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy after suffering several grand mal seizures and gave up teaching to live a life of solitude at a Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham, England, in 1970. She spent nearly a decade translating Medieval Latin scripts before pursuing her interest in art in 1980. Her first book, "Contemporary Women Artists", was published in 1988. She was persuaded by the BBC to host a documentary about England's National Gallery in 1991. She proved a hit with audiences and her eccentric personality led to a six-part series "Sister Wendy's Odyssey" in 1992. She traveled to museums throughout Europe in 1994's "Sister Wendy's Grand Tour". She went to the Middle East and the United States in "Sister Wendy's Story of Painting", which was aired in England by the BBC in 1996 and by PBS in the United States the following year. She also hosted the documentaries "Sister Wendy's Pains of Glass" (1995), "Saints with Sister Wendy" (1997), "Sister Wendy's American Collection" (2001), and "Sister Wendy at the Norton Simon Museum" (2002). She was also narrator for the audio tour of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel in 2006. She was author of numerous books on art and other subjects including her "Sister Wendy's Meditations" series in 1995, "Sister Wendy in Conversation with Bill Moyers" (1997), "Sister Wendy's Story of Christmas: Adventures in Art" (1997), "Sister Wendy's Nativity" (1998), "Sister Wendy's Book of Muses" (2000), "Joy Lasts: On the Spiritual in Art" (2006), "Sister Wendy on Prayer" (2007), "Encounters with God: In Quest of Ancient Icons of Mary" (2009), and "Sister Wendy Contemplates the Iconic Jesus" (2011).
JOHN D.F. BLACK, 85 - November 29, 2018
Television producer and writer John D.F. Black, who wrote for the original "Star Trek" television series in the 1960s, died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, on November 29, 2018. Black was born on December 30, 1932. He began working in films and television in the late 1950s. He wrote the screenplay for the 1957 horror film "The Unearthly" under the name Geoffrey Dennis. He also scripted "Gunfight in Abilene" (1967), "Nobody's Perfect" (1968), "Three Guns for Texas" (1968), the blaxploitation classic "Shaft" (1971) based on a novel by Ernest Tidyman, "The Carey Treatment" (1972) under the name James P. Bonner, "Trouble Man" (1972) also serving as executive producer, and "Survival" (1976). Black scripted episodes of such television series as "Johnny Staccato", "Surfside 6", "Have Gun - Will Travel", "Lawman", "The Untouchables", "Combat!", "The Fugitive", "The Eleventh Hour", "Kraft Suspense Theatre", "Mr. Novak", "Laredo", "Run for Your Life", "Cimarron Strip", "Insight", "The High Chaparral", "The F.B.I.", and "The Virginian". He was associate producer and story editor for ten episodes of the original "Star Trek" series in 1966. He scripted the episode "The Naked Time", earning a Hugo Award nomination for his work. He continued to write for such series as "Mary Tyler Moore", "Mannix", "The Bill Cosby Show", "Mission: Impossible", "Room 222", "Getting Together", "Jigsaw John", "The Streets of San Francisco", "Delvecchio", "Man from Atlantis", "Most Wanted", "Charlie's Angels" also directing an episode, "Hell Town", and "Murder, She Wrote". He also penned a 1987 episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" under the name Ralph Willis. He wrote and produced the unsuccessful pilot for "Wonder Woman" (1974) starring Cathy Lee Crosby, and the tele-films "The Fuzz Brothers" (1973), "A Shadow in the Streets" (1975), and "The Clone Master" (1978). He also scripted the tele-films "Thief" (1972) earning an Emmy Award nomination, and "Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate" (1971). He is survived by his wife, Mary, who served as his executive secretary on "Star Trek", and three sons.
RAMON BLACKBURN, 93 - August 17, 2018
Dancer Ramon Blackburn, who teamed with his brother, Royce, as the Blackburn Twins, died in Boynton Beach, Florida, on August 17, 2018. Blackburn was born in New York City on January 8, 1925. He and Royce began performing as tap dancers as children, and appeared in the Broadway musical "Music's in the Air" in 1932. He served in the military during World War II, and continued to perform with his brother after the war. The Blackburn Twins appeared in the films "Winged Victory" (1944), "Words and Music" (1948), "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (1949), and "She's Working Her Way Through College" (1952). They also appeared on television on "Texaco Star Theatre", "The Arthur Murray Party", "The Milton Berle Show", "The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Tonight Show" with Steve Allen, and "The Colgate Comedy Hour". Ramon married singer Joyce Seiger in 1952 after meeting her at the Copa Cabana. He is survived by his wife and their two children.
ARELL BLANTON, 74 - September 21, 2018
Actor Arell Blanton died on September 21, 2018. He was born on November 2, 1943. He began performing on television in the late 1960s and was featured as a security guard in the 1969 "Star Trek" episode "The Savage Curtain". His other television credits include episodes of "Adam-12", "The Virginian", "Dan August", "Cannon", "Police Story", "The Streets of San Francisco", "Logan's Run", "Lucan", "Starsky and Hutch", "M*A*S*H", "Knight Rider", "Street Hawk", "Knots Landing", "Freddy's Nightmares", "Hunter", "Matlock", "Jake and the Fatman", "Father Dowling Mysteries", "The New Lassie", "Renegade", "Beverly Hills, 90210", "Profiler", "Dark Skies" in the recurring role of General Nathan F. Twining, "The Practice", "Ally McBeal", "Melrose Place", "Good vs Evil", "Martial Law", "That's Life" as Bob from 2000 to 2001, "10-8: Officers on Duty", and "Las Vegas". His other television credits include the tele-films "The Blue Knight" (1973), "Dan August: The Trouble with Women" (1980), "Code of Vengeance" (1985), "Scandal in a Small Town" (1988), "Dance 'Til Dawn" (1988), "Favorite Son" (1988), "The Gifted One" (1989), "The Final Days" (1989), "Breaking the Silence" (1992), "Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story" (1992), "Armed and Innocent" (1994), "A Dangerous Affair" (1995), and "Michael Jordan: An American Hero" (1999). He was assistant director for several films including "Superchick" (1973), "Inferno in Paradise" (1974), and "Chesty Anderson U.S. Navy" (1976). He appeared in the films "Blood Mania" (1970), "Wild Riders" (1971), "Black Gunn" (1972), "House of Terror" (1973), "The Swarm" (1978), "When a Stranger Calls" (1979), "The Baltimore Bullet" (1980), "Pennies from Heaven" (1981), "Native Son" (1986), "Assault of the Killer Bimbos" (1988), "Deadly Weapon" (1989), "Defending Your Life" (1991), "Annie's Garden" (1997), "Mumford" (1999), "Zoe" (2001), and "A Day Without a Mexican" (2004). Blanton was married to actress Cheryl Waters from 1972 until their divorce in 1976.
VERNA BLOOM, 80 - January 9, 2019
Actress Verna Bloom, who was featured as Marion Wormer in the 1978 comedy "Animal House", died of complications from dementia in Bar Harbor, Maine, on January 9, 2019. Bloom was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, on August 7, 1938. She graduated from Boston University and began performing on stage in local theater in Denver in the mid-1960s. She appeared as Charlotte Corday in the 1967 Broadway revival of "The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade". She also appeared in the Broadway comedy "Brighton Beach Memoirs" in 1983. She made her film debut in "Medium Cool" in 1969 and appeared in the films "Childrens Games" (1969), "The Hired Hand" (1971), "High Plains Drifter" (1973) with Clint Eastwood, "Badge 373" (1973), "Animal House" as Dean Wormer's wife (1978), "Honky Tonk Man" (1982), "The Journey of Natty Gann" (1985), "After Hours" (1985), and "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988) as Mary, Mother of Jesus. She appeared on television in episodes of "N.Y.P.D.', "Directions", "Bonanza", "Doc Elliot", "The Blue Knight", "Kojak", "Police Story", "Visions", "Lou Grant", "Gibbsville", "Cagney & Lacey", "The Equalizer", "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman", and "The West Wing". She also appeared in the tele0films "Particular Men" (1972), "Where Have All the People Gone" (1974), "Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic" (1975), "Contract on Cherry Street" (1977), "Playing for Time" (1980), "Rivkin: Bounty Hunter" (1981), and "Promises to Keep" (1985). Bloom married writer Jay Cocks in 1972 and is survived by him and her son, Sam.
CAROL CHANNING, 97 - January 15, 2019
Actress, singer, and comedienne Carol Channing, who was a leading star on the Broadway stage and in film musicals, died at her home in Rancho Mirage, California, on January 15, 2019. Channing was born in Seattle, Washington, on January 31, 1921. She moved to San Francisco with her family as an infant, where she graduated high school. She attended Bennington College in Vermont where she majored in drama. She performed on the New York stage in a 1941 production of "No for an Answer" and made her Broadway debut in the musical "Let's Face It!" as Eve Arden's understudy later in the year. She became a leading performer on stage, noted for her husky voice, toothy grin, and large saucer eyes. She appeared on Broadway in the musicals "Proof Thro' the Night" (1942) and "Lend an Ear" (1948) before starring as Lorelei Lee in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" in 1949. Her rendition of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" became her signature performance, and earned her the cover of "Time" magazine during the musical's two year run. She was replaced in the role of Lorelei by Marilyn Monroe for the 1953 film version. She replaced Rosalind Russell in the Broadway musical comedy "Wonderful Town" in 1954, and earned a Tony Award for her role as Flora Weems in "The Vamp" in 1955. She received another Tony nomination for the 1961 musical revue "Show Girl". Channing appeared in the films "Paid in Full" (1950) and "The First Traveling Saleslady" (1956). She appeared on television in productions of "The Little Kitty Stayed Cool" for "Omnibus" in 1953, "Svengali and the Blonde" (1955) as Trilby O'Farrell, "Three Men on a Horse" for "Playhouse 90" in 1957, the 1958 production of "The Christmas Tree". She was also seen in such series as "Showtime, U.S.A.", "Texaco Star Theatre", "The Colgate Comedy Hour", "Person to Person", "The Spike Jones Show", "The DuPont Show of the Month", "Shower of Stars", "The Rosemary Clooney Show", "The Big Record", "Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall", "The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show", "The Arthur Murray Party", "The Juke Box Jury", "The Big Party", "Celebrity Talent Scouts", "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show", "The Tonight Show", "The Jack Paar Tonight Show", "Here's Hollywood", "The Garry Moore Show", "The Andy Williams Show", "What's My Line", "The Keefe Brasselle Show", "Password", "To Tell the Truth", "I've Got a Secret", "Playboy After Dark", "The Ed Sullivan Show", and "The Joey Bishop Show". She starred as Dolly Levi in the hit Broadway musical "Hello, Dolly!" in 1964, and earned a Tony Award for her performance. She starred in the role for over 5,000 times on Broadway and in traveling productions, and was reportedly devastated when Barbra Streisand was selected to star in the 1969 film version. She was recipient of a special Tony Award in 1969, and appeared in the 1971 comedy play "Four on a Garden". Channing received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Muzzy Van Hossmere in the 1967 film "Thoroughly Modern Millie" with Julie Andrews, and starred with Jackie Gleason in the 1968 comedy film "Skidoo". She had a cameo role in the 1978 film "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". She starred in the television specials "An Evening with Carol Channing" (1966), "Carol Channing and 101 Men" (1968), "Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey: On Broadway" (1969), "Carol Channing Proudly Presents the Seven Deadly Sins" (1969), and "Carol Channing's Mad English Tea Party" (1970). She was halftime performer for "Super Bowl IV" in 1970 and "Super Bowl VI" in 1972, and performed in the series "The Dick Cavett Show", "The Carol Burnett Show", "Flip", "This Is Your Life", "The Dean Martin Show", "The Bob Hope Show", "The Hollywood Squares", "Dinah!", "The Merv Griffin Show", "The Mike Douglas Show", "Captain Kangaroo", "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", "The Bob Braun Show", "Late Night with David Letterman", "Circus of the Stars", "Sesame Street", "Wogan", "One on One wth John Tesh", "Vicki!", "Space Ghost Coast to Coast", "Late Show with David Letterman", "The Dana Carvey Show", "The Rosie O'Donnell Show", "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", "Larry King Live", "The Hollywood Squares", "Martha", "The Florence Henderson Show", "The View", "The Wendy Williams Show", and "RuPaul's Drag Race". She was the White Queen in 1985 television production of "Alice in Wonderland", and appeared in the recurring role of Aunt sylvia Duvall on "The Love Boat" from 1981 to 1987. She guest starred in an episodes of "Burke's Law". She appeared as herself on the daytime soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful" in 1993, and episodes of "The Nanny", "The Drew Carey Show", "Touched by an Angel", and "Style & Substance". Channing was a voice actress in the animated films "Shinbone Alley" (1970), "Happily Ever After" (1990), "Thumbelina" (1994), and "The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars" (1998), and episodes of the carton series "Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers", "Where's Waldo?", "The Addams Family" as the voice of Grandmama Addams in 1992, "2 Stupid Dogs", "The Magic School Bus", and "Family Guy". She earned a Tony nomination for her starring role as Lorelie Lee in 1975's "Lorelei", and reprised her role as Mrs. Dolly Levi in revivals of "Hello, Dolly!" in 1978 and 1995. She toured with Mary Martin in the play "Legends" from 1986 to 1987. She was recipient of a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1995. Channing was a lifelong liberal Democrat, and her name was included in Richard Nixon's enemies list, which she claimed was the highest honor of her career. She appeared in the 1996 documentary "The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story", whose show business caricatures helped make her a star. She was the subject of the 2012 documentary film "Carol Channing: Larger Than Life". Her memoir, "Just Lucky I Guess: A Memoir of Sorts" was published in 2002. She revealed in her autobiography that her paternal grandmother was an African-American. She was married to writer Theodore Naidish from 1942 until their divorce in 1946, and to football player Alexander Carson from 1948 until their divorce in 1956. She was married to longtime manager and publicist Charles Lowe from 1956 until his death in 1999. She was reunited with childhood sweetheart Harry Kullijian after seven decades, and they were married from 2003 until his death in 2011. She is surived by her son with Carson, editorial cartoonist Chan Lowe.
ROSEMARY COLLIGAN, 94 - December 15, 2018
Actress and model Rosemary Colligan died at her home in Voorhees, New Jersey, on December 15, 2018. Colligan was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1925. She moved to Philadelphia after high school before settling in New York City in 1948. She worked as a model for the John Robert Powers Agency, and represented such brands as Coca-Cola and Camel cigarettes. She was featured in small roles in several films including "Run for the Hills" (1953), "The French Line" (1953), and "Son of Sinbad" (1955). She was romantically involved with film producer Mike Todd and actor George Raft in the early 1950s. She retired from the screen after her marriage to real estate developer William Sullivan in 1954. She became president of Sullivan Management Corporation after her husband's death in 1984 until her retirement in 2016. Her survivors include their son, William Sullivan, Jr.
VICTOR CAMPOS, 84 - December 4, 2018
Actor Victor Campos died from complications of prostate cancer in Sherman Oaks, California, on December 4, 2018. Campos was born in New York City on January 15, 1935. He began performing on television in the mid-1960s appearing in episodes of "Hawk", "The High Chaparral", "Mission: Impossible", "The Flying Nun", "Bonanza", "Lancer", "The F.B.I.", "The Interns", "Cade's County" as Rudy Davillo from 1971 to 1972, "Mod Squad", "The Streets of San Francisco", "Adam-12", "The Rookies", "Doc Elliot", "The New Perry Mason", "This Is The Life", "Columbo", "McCloud", "Cannon", "Kolchak: The Night Stalker", "Doctor's Hospital", "Kojak" in the recurring role of detective Gomez in the early 1970s, "Vega$", "Hill Street Blues", "Cagney & Lacey", "T.J. Hooker", "Knight Rider", "Jessie", "MacGruder and Loud", "Dallas", "The A-Team", "Blacke's Magic", "Simon & Simon", "Hunter", "Falcon Crest", "The Bronx Zoo", "Dragnet", "Midnight Caller", "Law & Order", "Dharma & Greg", "Roswell", "Arrested Development", "Six Feet Under", "The Unit", "ER", and "Dexter". His other television credits include the tele-films "Call To Danger" (1973), "The Impostor" (1975), "One Of Our Own" (1975), "Foster and Laurie" (1975), "Shark Kill" (1976), "High Midnight" (1979), "The Archer: Fugitive From The Empire" (1981), "Kids Don't Tell" (1985), and "Have You Seen My Son" (1996). He was featured in the films "The Adversary" (1970), "Newman's Law" (1974), "The Master Gunfighter" (1975), "Black Sunday" (1977), "Five Days From Home" (1978), "Scarface" (1983), "Moving Violations" (1985), "Split Decisions" (1988), "Juice" (1992), "Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor" (1992), "Murdered Innocence" (1996), "human Desires" (1997), "Shallow Ground" (2004), "Murder On The Yellow Brick Road" (2005), "Ray Of Sunshine" (2006), and "Locker 13" (2014). Campos was married to Dalia Montano from 1963 until their divorce in 1970 and is survived by their daughter.
STEVE DASH, 74 - December 18, 2018
Stuntman Steve Dash, who played the murderous Jason Voorhees in the slasher classic "Friday the 13th Part 2", died of complications from diabetes on December 18, 2018. He was born Steve Daskewisz in New York City on March 14, 1944. He worked as a police officer before doing stuntwork in films from the late 1970s. He performed stunts and appeared in small roles in the films "The Jazz Singer" (1980), "Nighthawks" (1981), "Ms. 45" (1981), and "Rent Control" (1981). He was best known for playing slasher Jason Voorhees in the second film in the long-running "Friday the 13th" franchise in 1981, when he still wore a burlap sack over his head before exchanging it for a hockey mask. His other films include "Alone in the Dark" (1982), "Night Shift" (2002), "One Down Two to Go" (1982), "Ghostbusters" (1984), "Turk 182" (1985), "F/X" (1986), "9 1/2 Weeks" (1986), "Wise Guys" (1986), "Sweet Liberty" (1986), "Equalizer 2000" (1987), "13 Tzameti" (2005), "Julie & Julia" (2009), "Mr. Hush" (2010), "Emerging Past" (2011), "Hemo" (2011), and "My Friends" (2012). He also worked on the tele-films "Rivkin: Bounty Hunter" (1981) and "Stagemore" (2011), and episodes of "Tattinger's" and "Superboy". Dash married Loretta Fountain in 1965 and they had three children together.
HUGH DICKSON, 91 - November 26, 2018
British actor Hugh Dickson died in London, England, on November 26, 2018. Dickson was born in Worthing, West Sussex, England, on August 19, 1927. He studied at Exeter College, Oxford, after national service. He was active with the Oxford University Dramatic Society, and continued to perform in repertory after graduation. He appeared at venues throughout England, and performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company in London. He joined the BBC Radio Drama Company in the 1950s. He appeared frequently on television, with roles in productions of "Simon's Good Deed" (1955), "Brother Ass and Brother Lion" (1955), "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (1956), "Jesus of Nazareth" (1956), "Voyage of the Surprise" (1956), "Mr. Sheridan's Umbrella" (1957), "The Trial of Admiral Byng" (1958), "The Caucasian Chalk Circle" (1962), "The Spread of the Eagle" (1963), "Joan of Arc" (1964), "Canterbury Tales" (1969) as the Parson, "Elizabeth R" (1971) as Sir Robert Cecil, "Marie Curie" (1977), "The Potsdam Quartet" (1981), "Floating Off" (1983), "Martin Luther, Heretic" (1983), the "Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense" production of "Last Video and Testament" (1984), "The Fools of the Hill" (1986), "Wipe Out" (1988), "Shadow of the Noose" (1989), "House of Cards" (1990), "Witchcraft" (1992), "The Echo" (1998), "Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes" (2001), "The Lost Prince" (2003), and "The Impressionists" (2006). His other television credits include episodes of "Escape", "Theatre Night", "Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School" (1959), "Mr. Pastry's Pet Shop", "Dimensions of Fear", "Z Cars", "Adam Adamant Lives!", "Softly Softly", "The Wednesday Play", "Thirty-Minute Theatre", "Merry-Go-Round", "Chronicle", "Biography", "Orson Welles' Great Mysteries", "Barlow", "Churchill's People", "Six Days of Justice", "Warship", "The Expert", "Poldark" as Dr. Behenna in 1977, "A Horseman Riding By", "The Voyage of Charles Darwin", "Blake's 7", "Play for Today", "God's Wonderful Railway", "Square Mile of Murder", "Premiere", "BBC2 Playhouse", "Bergerac", "Weekend Playhouse", "By the Sword Divided", "Bulman", "Drummonds", "Screen Two", "Forever Green", "Minder", "The Ruth Rendell Mysteries", "The Bill", "The Brittas Empire", "The 10 Percenters", "Madson", "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates", "Trial & Retribution", "Kavanagh QC", "The Scarlet Pimpernel", "The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells", "Casualty", "Silent Witness", "Midsomer Murders", "Surviving Disaster", "Doctors", and "Grantchester". He was featured in several films during his career including "Raw Meat" (1972), "A Private Enterprise" (1974), and "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" (2011). He was a leading voice actor, noted for his poetry reading on radio and recordings of audio books. He was heard in radio adaptations of Evelyn Waugh's "Sword of Honour" (1974), Anthony Powell's "A Dance to the Music of Time" (1979-1982), and "Lord of the Rings" (1982) as the voice of Elrond. Dickson married Dorothy White in 1954 and they had a son before their subsequent divorce. He is survived by his son and his partner, Marian Diamond.
EDDIE FOY, III, 83 - November 3, 2018
Casting director and actor Eddie Foy, III died of complications from a fall in Denison, Iowa, on November 3, 2018. Foy was born in New York City on February 10, 1935. He was the son of actor Eddie Foy, Jr., who was part of his grandfather's vaudeville act Eddie Foy and the Seven Little Foys. Eddie III began his career as an actor on the Broadway stage in the revival of "The Red Mill" at age 10. He appeared in the films "Women's Prison" (1955), "Battle Stations" (1956), "Outlaw's Son" (1957), "Run Silent Run Deep" (1958), and "When Hell Broke Loose" (1958). He appeared on television in episodes of "The Ford Television Theatre", "Studio 57", "Highway Patrol", "West Point", "Father Knows Best", "The Blue Angels", "Run, Joe, Run", and the unsold pilot "The Jay Hawkers". He was associate producer for the television series "That Girl" and "My World and Welcome to It" in the late 1960s. Foy had a long career as a casting director, working for 20th Century Fox, Dick Clark Productions, and Columbia Pictures/Screen Gems. He served as director of casting for ABC and was vice president of casting at NBC. He also worked frequently in casting for The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon. He cast the films "Trouble Man" (1972), "When Legends Die" (1972), "Together Brothers" (1974), "The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West" (1976), "Up!" (1976), "The Arrogant" (1988), "The Comic Book Christmas Caper" (1990), and "Shaking the Tree" (1990). Foy worked primarily in television, casting the tele-films "Go Ask Alice" (1973), "Honor Thy Father" (1973), "She Lives!" (1973), "Message to My Daughter" (1973), "The Wide World of Mystery" production of "Tight as a Drum" (1974), "It's Good to Be Alive" (1974), "Terror on the 40th Floor" (1974), "The Strange and Deadly Occurrence" (1974), "Where Have All the People Gone?" (1974), "Strange Homecoming" (1974), "It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy" (1974), "Betrayal" (1974), "The Hatfields and the McCoys" (1975), "Death Stalk" (1975), "Secret Night Caller" (1975), "Someone I Touched" (1975), "The Million Dollar Rip-Off" (1976), "The Young Pioneers" (1976), "Young Pioneer's Christmas" (1976), "Freedom Is" (1976), "Night Drive" (1977), "The Spell" (1977), "Deep Dark Secrets" (1987), "A Mouse, a Mystery and Me" (1987), "Nightmare at Bittercreek" (1988), "Street of Dreams" (1988), "A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story" (1989), "Bejewelled" (1991), "Death Dreams" (1991), "Elvis and the Colonel: The Untold Story" (1993), "Caught in the Act" (1993), "Secret Sins of the Father" (1994), and "Deep Family Secrets" (1997). His other television credits include the series "Firehouse", "Dusty's Trail", "Barney Miller", "Harry O", "Great Performances", and "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction". Foy's married Jan Standley in 1995, and is survived by her and their daughter Dina.
SALO GARDNER, 82 - December 2, 2018
Czech-British actor Salo Gardner died in a nursing home in England on December 2, 2018. Gardner was born in Czechoslovakia in 1936. He was rescued to England with over 600 Jewish children on the eve of World War II in 1939. He began appearing in films in the early 1960s with a small role in "Summer Holiday" (1963) with Cliff Richards. He continued to perform in bit parts in the films "Thunderball" (1965), "Casino Royale" (1967), "Henry VIII and His Six Wives" (1972), "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977), "Superman II" (1980), "Octopussy" (1985), "Young Sherlock Holmes" (1985), "Batman" (1989), "Surviving Picasso" (1996), "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (2002), "Shaun of the Dead" (2004), "Dorian Gray" (2009), "The Wolfman" (2010), "Clash of the Titans" (2010), "Robin Hood" (2010), "The King's Speech" (2010), "X-Men: First Class" (2011), "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011), "Broken" (2012), "Pan" (2015), and "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" (2016). He also appeared in small roles in episodes of "Doomwatch", "Blake's 7", "The Black Adder", "Band of Brothers", and "Big Brother's Bit on the Side". His other television credits include "Anybody's Nightmare" (2001), "George Orwell: A Life in Pictures" (2003), "Derek" (2013), and "Roald Dahl's Esio Trot". Gardner was best known for his work with the "Star Wars" franchise. He played a cantina patron in the original "Star Wars" in 1977, and was also seen in small roles in "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" (1999) and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2015).
BRIAN GARFIELD, 79 - December 29, 2018
Novelist and screenwriter Brian Garfield, whose novel "Death Wish" spawned a vigilante film franchise starring Charles Bronson, died of complications from Parkinson's disease in Pasadena, California, on December 29, 2018. Garfield was born in New York City on January 26, 1939. He was raised in Arizona and toured with the singing group The Palisades in the 1950s. He also served in the U.S. Army and attended the University of Arizona. His first novel, the western "Range Justice", was published in 1960. He primarily wrote westerns, and used such pen names as Frank Wynne, Frank O'Brian, Bennett Garland, Drew Mallory, Alex Hawk, John Ives, Brian Wynne, and Jonas Ward. His novels include "The Arizonans" (1961), "Massacre Basin" (1962), "The Rimfire Murders" (1962), "The Lawbringers" (1962), "7 Brave Men" (1962), "Vultures in the Sun" (1963), "Dragoon Pass" (1963), "High Storm" (1963), "Rails West" (1964), "Mr. Sixgun" (1964) introducing the character of Marshall Jeremy Six, "Rio Concho" (1964), "The Vanquished" (1964), "The Night It Rained Bullets" (1965), "Call Me Hazard" (1966), "The Lusty Breed" (1966), "The Wolf Pack" (1966), "The Bravos" (1966), "The Proud Riders" (1967), "a Bridge for a Badman" (1967), "Buchanan's Gun" (1968), "Arizona" (1968), "Big Country, Big Men" (1969), "Sliphammer" (1970), "The Villiers Touch" (1970), "Sweeny's Honor" (1971), and "Deep Cover" (1971). He was also author of the 1969 non-fiction book "The Thousand-Mile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians". His 1971 novel "Gun Down" was adapted for the 1976 film "The Last Hard Men" starring Charles Heston and James Coburn. His novel "Relentless" (1972) was adapted for a tele-film in 1977. His 1972 novel "Death Wish" was adapted for a film of the same name in 1974 starring Charles Bronson as architect Paul Kersey, who goes on a vigilante rampage after muggers kill his wife. The film spawned a series of sequels including "Death Wish II" (1982), "Death Wish 3" (1985), "Death Wish 4: The Crackdown" (1987), and "Death Wish V: The Face of Death" (1994) though Garfield was not involved with them. "Death Wish" was remade for a film starring Bruce Willis in 2018. He wrote a sequel, "Death Sentence", in 1975 that was loosely adapted for the 2007 film of the same name starring Kevin Bacon. Garfield wrote the novel "Hopscotch" in 1975, that earned him the Edgar Award for best novel. Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson starred in the 1980 film version, scripted by Garfield. His other novels include "Target Manhattan" (1975), "Recoil" (1977), "Fear in a handful of Dust" (1978) adapted for the film "Fleshburn" in 1984, "Wild Times" (1978) adapted for the television mini-series of the same name in 1980, "The Marchand Woman" (1978), "Necessity" (1984) which became a 1988 tele-film, and "Manifest Destiny" (1989). He was associate producer and co-writer of the original story for the 1987 film "The Stepfather". Garfield's survivors include his wife, Bina.
GRACE GAYNOR, 84 - March 6, 2018
Actress Grace Gaynor died in Beverly Hills, California, on March 6, 2018. She was born Grace Gentile on November 14, 1933. She appeared frequently on television from the early 1960s, with roles in episodes of "not For Hire", "The Roaring 20's", "Bonanza", "Hawaiian Eye", "Batman" as the Penguin's moll Chickadee, "Occasional Wife", "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", "The Wild Wild West", "The F.B.I.", "The Magician", Wonder Woman", and "Eight Is Enough". She was featured as Judith in the 1967 film "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", and was Mrs. Underhill in the films "Fletch" (1985) and "Fletch Lives" (1989) starring Chevy Chase.
SANFORD GIBBONS, 85 - November 19, 2018
Actor Sanford Gibbons died in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 19, 2018. Gibbons was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on September 5, 1933. He attended St. Benedict's College in Atkinson, Kansas. He served with the U.S. Army with Armed Forces Radio Service in Alaska and began performing on local television while stationed in Anchorage. He moved to Hollywood after his discharge where he performed on stage in musical comedy productions. He appeared on television in episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "Petrocelli", "Little House on the Prairie", "Father Murphy", and "The Young Riders". His other credits include the tele-films "Wanted: The Sundance Woman" (1976), "Incredible Rocky Mountain Race" (1977), "High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane" (1980), "The Gifted One" (1989), "Four Eyes and Six-Guns" (1992), "Jericho Fever" (1993), "Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice" (1994), "Seduced and Betrayed" (1995), "Invasion" (1997), and "Point Last Seen" (1998). He appeared in the films "Cloud Dancer" (1980), "Used Cars" (1980), "Nightkill" (1980), "The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper" (1981), "Hanky Panky" (1982), "They Call Me Renegade" (1987), "Mikey" (1992), "Suture" (1993), "Tombstone" (1993), "Lightning Jack" (1994), "Terminal Velocity" (1994), "Tin Cup" (1996), "How To Become Famous" (1999), "Whiplash" (2002), "Redemption" (2009), "The Covenant" (2017), "Deadly Sanctuary" (2017), and "Warning: No Trespassing" (2018). He settled in Arizona where he was a local news anchor and appeared on stage. Gibbons is survived by his four children.
NORMAN GIMBEL, 91 - December 19, 2018
Lyrists Norman Gimbel, who was noted for writing the words to the songs "The Girl From Ipanema" and "Killing Me Softly With His Song", died in Montecito, California, on December 19, 2018. Gimbel was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 16, 1927. He began his career working with music publisher David Blum before becoming a songwriter for Edwin H. Morris Music. He wrote Teresa Brewer's popular novelty song "Ricochet" in 1953, and his "Whale of a Tale" was sung by Kirk Douglas in Disney's 1954 film version of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". He also had success with Dean Martin's "Sway" and Andy Williams' "Canadian Sunset" in 1956. He worked frequently with composer Frank Loesser and teamed with Morris 'Moose' Charlap for the Broadway musicals "Whoop-Up" (1958) and "The Conquering Hero" (1961). He wrote English words for songs from Brazilian bossa nova composers in the early 1960s, notably Antonio Carlos Jobim's "The Girl from Ipanema". He also penned the lyrics for several Michel Legrand's "Watch What Happens" and "I Will Wait for You" from the film "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg". Gimbel moved to Los Angeles in 1967, where he began a lengthy collaboration with composer Charles Fox. Jim Croce also recorded their son "I Got a Name" in 1973. Gimbel and Fox had a major success and received a Grammy Award for Roberta Flack's rendition of their "Killing Me Softly with His Song" in 1973. They earned Academy Award nominations for the songs "Richard's Window" from "The Other Side of the Mountain" (1975) and "Ready to Take a Chance Again" from "Foul Play" (1978). Gimbel teamed with David Shire to share the Oscar for "It Goes Like It Goes" from "Norma Rae" (1979). He received an Emmy Award nomination for his work on the television series "The Paper Chase" in 1989. Gimbel and Fox created theme songs for such television series as "Wonder Woman", "Angie", "Happy Days", "Laverne & Shirley", "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", "The Bugaloos", and "H.R. Pufnstuf". He also provided song scores for the films "The Phantom Tollbooth" (1969), "Where's Poppa?" (1970), "A Troll in Central Park" (1994), "The Thief and the Cobbler" (1995), and the Disney animated video "Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure" (2001). Gimble was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984. He was married and divorced from Elinor Rowley and Victoria Carver and is survived by two children from each marriage.
ROBERT GLENN, 93 - December 25, 2018
Actor Robert Glenn died in Denton, Texas, on December 25, 2018. Glenn was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 13, 1925. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as an officer during World War II. He studied drama at the Columbia College of Drama in Chicago after the war. He moved to Texas in 1949 where he was active with the Dallas Little Theatre, where he was an actor and director for many years. He also performed and directed at the Margo Jones Theater, the Dallas Black Theater, Courtyard Theater, and the Pearl Chappel Playhouse. He also directed off-Broadway productions of "Shakespeare in Harlem", "The Legend of Charlie Parker", and "The Long Valley". He appeared on television in several episodes of the soap opera "The Guiding Light. He was featured in several films including "Hothead" (1963), "A Bullet for Pretty Boy" (1970), and "The Last Picture Show" (1971). Glenn was artistic director of the Citadel Theater in Edmonton, Canada, for several years before returning to Dallas in the early 1970s. He was founder of the Shakespeare Dallas Festival in 1972 and was producer there through the 1980s. Glenn is survived by his wife of 53 years, Sigrid, their daughter, and four children from a previous marriage.
JOHN HEFFERNAN, 84 - December 3, 2018
Actor John Heffernan died on December 3, 2018. Heffernan was born in New York City on May 30, 1934. He began his career on stage and appeared frequently on Broadway from the late 1950s. He appeared in productions of "The Great God Brown" (1959), "Lysistrata" (1959), "Peer Gynt" (1960), "Henry IV, Part I" (1960), "Henry IV, Part II" (1960), "She Stoops To Conquer" (1960), "The Plough and The Stars" (1960), "The Octoroon" (1961), "Hamlet" (1961), "Tiny Alice" (1964), "Postmark Zero" (1965), "Malcolm" (1966), "Saint Joan" (1968), "Woman is My Idea" (1968), "Morning, Noon and Night" (1968), "Purlie" (1970), "Bad Habits" (1974), "Knock Knock" (1976), "The Lady From The Sea" (1976), "Sly Fox" (1976), "The Suicide" (1980), and "Alice in Wonderland" (1982). He was seen in the films "Time of the Heathen" (1962), "Puzzle of a Downfall Child" (1970), "The Sting" (1973), "92 In The Shade" (1975), "God Told Me To" (1976), "The Fisher King" (1991), "1492: Conquest of Paradise" (1992), "Extreme Measures" (1996), "Gloria" (1999), and "Bringing Our The Dead" (1999). He appeared on television in episodes of "Play of the Week', "The Doctors and The Nurses", "Camera Three", "Hawk", "New York Television Theatre", "NBC Experiment in Television", "NET Playhouse", "All in the Family", "Maude", "The Doctors", "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" as Chester Markham in 1976, "For Richer, For Poorer", and "Law & Order". His other television credits include productions of "Postmark Zero" (1966), "Barefoot in Athens" (1966), "A Touch of the Poet" (1974), "The Lives of Benjamin Franklin" (1974), and "Mayflower: The Pilgrims' Adventure" (1979).
PAUL KOSLO, 74 - January 9, 2019
German-Canadian actor Paul Koslo died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Lake Hughes, California, on January 9, 2019. He was born Manfred Koslowski in Germany on June 27, 1944. He moved to Canada with his family as a child, eventually settling in Vancouver. He trained at the National Theatre School in Montreal and began his acting career in the 1960s. He appeared in such films as "Little White Crimes" (1966), "House of Zodiac" (1969), "The Losers" (1970), the cult classic "Vanishing Point" (1971), "Scandalous John" (1971), "The Omega Man" (1971) as the motorcycle riding Dutch, "Welcome Home, Soldier Boys" (1971), "Joe Kidd" (1972) with Clint Eastwood, "Lolly-Madonna XXX" (1973), "Cleopatra Jones" (1973), "The Stone Killer" (1973), "The Laughing Policeman" (1973), "Mr. Majestyk" (1974) with Charles Bronson, "Bootleggers" (1974), "Freebie and the Bean" (1974), "The Drowning Pool" (1975), "Rooster Cogburn" (1975) with John Wayne, "Voyage of the Damned" (1976), "Assault in Paradise" (aka "Maniac!") (1977), "Tomorrow never Comes" (1978), "Love and Bullets" (1979), "Heaven's Gate" (1980), "Hambone and Hillie" (1983), "The Annihilators" (1985), "Craibe" (1987), "A Night in the Life Jimmy Reardon" (1988), "Robot Jox" (1989), "Loose Cannons" (1990), "Extro II: The Second Encounter" (1990), "Solar Crisis" (1990), "Shadowchasers" (1992), "Chained Heat II" (1993), "Judge and Jury" (1996), "Inferno" (1999), "Y.M.I." (2004) which he also produced, and "Breaking the Fifth" (2005). He appeared on television in episodes of "Festival", "Bearcats!", "Longstreet", "Mission: Impossible", "Ironside", "The Man Hunter", "Gunsmoke", "Petrocelli", "Police Woman", "Switch", "The Rookies", "Cannon", "Police Story", "Barnaby Jones", "Most Wanted", "David Cassidy - Man Undercover", "Dallas", "How the West was Won", "The Rockford Files", "Chips", "Hawaii Five-O', "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century", "Galactica 1980, "Paris", "Hart to Hart", "Quincy", "Nero Wolfe", "The Incredible Hulk", "The Greatest American Hero", "Today's F.B.I.", "Strike Force", "Cassie & Co.", "Bret Maverick", "Trapper John, M.D.", "Gavilan", "Matt Houston", "Legmen", "Blue Thunder", "You Are the Jury", "The Paper Chase", "Jessie", "Knight Rider", "The Dukes of Hazzard", "T.J. Hooker", "Deadly Nightmares", "Crazy Like a Fox", "The A-Team", "Wildside", "Misfits of Science", "Highway to Heaven", "MacGyver", "Falcon Crest", "Ohara", "The Highwayman", "Hunter", "The Outsiders", "Life Goes On", "The Flash", "Walker, Texas Ranger", and "Stargate SG-1". His other television credits include the tele-films "The Birdmen" (1971), "The Daughters of Joshua Cabe" (1972), "Scott Free" (1976), "Captains and the Kings" (1976), "Roots: The Next Generations" (1979) as Earl Crowther, "The Sacketts" (1979), "Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case" (1980), "Inmates: A Love Story" (1981), "Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues" (1983), "The Glitter Dome" (1984), "Conagher" (1991), "Drive Like Lightening" (1992), and "Downdraft" (1996). He was a founding member of the MET Theatre in Hollywood in the mid-1970s, and served on the board of directors. Koslo married actress Allaire Paterson in 1997 and is survived by her and their child.
DON LUSK, 105 - December 30, 2018
Animator Don Lusk, who worked for Walt Disney from the 1930s, died San Clemente, California, on December 30, 2018. Lusk was born in Burbank, California, on October 28, 1913. He began working in films as a set and costume designer before joining Walt Disney's Hyperio Studio in 1933. He initially served as an in-betweener on Goofy animated shorts. He also worked on the animated feature "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937) as a clean-up artist. He also worked on the shorts "Mikey's Polo Team" (1936), "Farmyard Symphony" (1938), "Ferdinand the Bull" (1938), and "Saludos Amigos" (1942). He also worked as an animator on the films "Pinocchio" (1940), "Fantasia" (1940), "Bambi" (1942), and "The Three Caballeros" (1944). He participated in the animator's labor strike at Disney in 1941 that lasted for five week. He served in the U.S. Marines for three years during World War II, working with the Animation Unit. He returned to Disney after the war where he remained through 1960, working on the features and shorts "Make Mine Music" (1946), "Song of the South" (1946), "Fun & Fancy Free" (1947), "Melody Time" (1948), "So Dear to My Heart" (1948), "The Legend of Johnny Appleseed" (1948), "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" (1949), "Cinderella" (1950), "The Wind in the Willows" (1952), "Ben and Me" (1953), "Peter Pan" (1953), "Lady and the Tramp" (1955), "Sleeping Beauty" (1959), and "101 Dalmatians" (1961). He also worked on numerous episodes of "The Magical World of Disney" in the 1950s. He continued to work in animation after leaving th studio as an animator and director at UPA, Bill Melendez Productions, and Hanna-Barbara. He was an animator on the films "Gay Purr-ee" (1962), "Hey There, It's Yogi Bear" (1964), "The Man from Button Willow" (1965), "The Man Called Flintstone" (1966), "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" (1969), "Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown" (1977), "The Little Mermaid" (1989), and "The Thief and the Cobbler" (1993). He was animator for many of the television specials based on Charles Shultz's "Peanuts", including "It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown" (1969), "Play It Again, Charlie Brown" (1971), "You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown" (1972), "There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown" (1973), "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" (1973), "It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown" (1974), "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown!" (1974), "Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown"(1975), "You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown" (1975), "It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown" (1976), "It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown" (1977), and "What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown!" (1978). He was an animator on the television specials "Alice in Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?" (1966), "Clerow Wilson and the Miracle of P.S. 14" (1972), "These Are the Days" (1974), "A Flintstone Christmas" (1977), "Yogi & the Invasion of the Space Bears" (1988), "Lifestyles of the Rich and Animated" (1991), and "Droopy: Master Detective" (1993). He also worked on such television cartoon series as "The Secret Squirrel Show", "The Atom Ant Show", "The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", "The Jetsons","Adventures of the Gummi Bears", and "Captain Planet and the Planeteers". He was assistant director for episodes of "Shirt Tales", "Monchhichis", "The Dukes", "Pac-Man", "The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show", "The Biskits", "Pink Panther and Sons", and "The Smurfs". He was a director for the 1986 animated film "GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords". He also directed episodes of the series "Snorks", "Galtar and the Golden Lance", "Challenge of the GoBots", "Paw Paws", "The Flintstone Kids", "Foofur", "Wildfire", "Jonny Quest", "Popeye and Son", "Sky Commanders", "Yogi's Treasure Hunt", the 1987 tele-film "The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones", "Pound Puppies", "The New Yogi Bear Show", "The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley", "Fantastic Max", "The Smurfs", "Paddington Bear", "Tom & Jerry Kids Show", "Midnight Patrol: Adventures in the Dream Zone", "Gravedale High", "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure", "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo", "Timeless Tales from Hallmark", "The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda", "Yo Yogi!", "Monster in My Pocket", "The Addams Family, and "The Pirates of Dark Water". Lusk was predeceased by his wife, Marge, who had also worked at Disney, and is survived by their son Skip and daughter Marilyn.
GALT MacDERMOT, 89 - December 17, 2018
Canadian-American composer Galt MacDermot, who was best known for providing the music for the hit musical "Hair", died on December 17, 2018. MacDermot was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on December 18, 1928. He attended college in Canada and studied African music at Cape Town University in South Africa. He composed the song "African Waltz", earning a Grammy Award in 1960 when it was recorde by Cannonball Adderley. MacDermot moved to New York City in 1964 where he worked as a composer and pianist. He joined with Gerome Ragni and James Rado to write music for their lyrics for "Hair" in 1967. It was soon produced on Broadway under director Tom O'Horgan, and ran for 1,750 performances. The cast album for the musical earned a Grammy Award in 1968 and was adapted for a film by Milos Forman in 1979. MacDermot's music accompanied such popular songs from "Hair" including the title track which was a hit single for the Cowsills, "Aquarius" and "Let the Sunshine In" which became a popular hit for the 5th Dimension, "Good Morning Starshine" which was a hit for Oliver, and Easy to Be Hard" which was recorded by Three Dog Night. He was also composer for the Tony Award winning musical "Three Gentlemen of Verona" (1971) which also earned him a Tony nomination. He had less success with later Broadway productions including "Dude" (1972), the sci-fi epic "Via Galactica" (1972), and "The Human Comedy" (1984). MacDermot also served as composer of the soundtrack for sthe films "Cotton Comes to Harlem" (1970), "Fortune and Men's Eyes" (1971), "Duffer" (1973), "Golden Apples of the Sun" (1973), "Woman Is Sweeter" (1973), "Rhinoceros" (1974), "The Moon Over the Alley" (1976), "Tinamer" (1987), "Riding the Rails" (1988), and "Mistress" (1992). He formed the New Pulse Band in 1979 that performed and recorded his original music. He was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2009. MacDermot's survivors include his wife of 62 years, clarinetist Marlene Bruynzeel, and five children.
TOMMY MADDEN - September 25, 2018
Actor Tommy Madden died on September 25, 2017. The diminutive actor appeared frequently in films and television from the 1970s. He was seen in episodes of "The Magician", "Starsky and Hutch", "Cliffhangers: The Secret Empire", "Laverne & Shirley", "Geppetto's Workshop", "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century", "The Incredible Hulk", "The Fall Guy", "Alice", "The Dukes of Hazzard", "Domestic Life", "Mr. Belvedere", "Crazy Like a Fox", "Magnum, P.I.", "St. Elsewhere", the 1986 reboot of "The Twilight Zone", "Night Court", "Simon & Simon" in the recurring role of Stretch Mooney, "The New Adam-12", "L.A. Law", "Coach", "You Wish", and "Working". He also appeared in the tele-films "When the Circus Came to Town" (1981), "When Dreams Come True" (1985), and "Marked for Murder" (1993). Madden was featured in the films "Linda Lovelace for President" (1975), "The Amorous Adventures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza" (1976), "Rooster: Spurs of Death!" (1977), "Rabbit Test" (1978), Ralph Bakshi's 1978 adaptation of "Lord of the Rings", "The Muppet Movie" (1979), "Swamp Thing" (1982) as Little Bruno, "Bad Guys" (1986), "Spaced Invaders" (1990), and "Breakfast of Aliens" (1993).
MARION MARSHALL, 89 - September 24, 2018
Actress Marion Marshall died on September 24, 2018. She was born Marian Lepriel Tanner in Los Angeles, California, on June 8, 1929. She began her film career with 20th Century Fox in the late 1940s, appearing in small roles in the films "Gentleman's Agreement" (1947) and "Daisy Kenyon" (1947). She was also seen in the films "You Were Meant for Me" (1948), "Sitting Pretty" (1948), "The Street with No Name" (1948), "The Luck of the Irish" (1948), "Apartment for Peggy" (1948), "The Snake Pit" (1948), "Road House" (1948), "Unfaithfully Yours" (1948), "When My Baby Smiles at Me" (1948), "I Was a Male War Bride" (1949), "Dancing in the Dark" (1949), "Wabash Avenue" (1950), "A Ticket to Tomahawk" (1950), "Love That Brute" (1950), "Stella" (1950), "My Blue Heaven" (1950), "Halls of Montezuma" (1951), "Call Me Mister" (1951), and "I Can Get It for You Wholesale" (1951). She co-starred with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in the comedy films "That's My Boy" (1951), "The Stooge" (1951), and "Sailor Beware" (1952). She was seen in several more films including "I Want to Live!" (1958), "Via Margutta" (1960), and "Gunn" (1967). Marshall appeared on television in episodes of "Peter Gun", "Schlitz Playhouse", "Have Gun - Will Travel", "Perry Mason", "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse", "Kraft Mystery Theater", "It Takes a Thief", and "Six Days of Justice". She was married to cameraman Allen Davey from 1945 until their divorce in 1948. She married director Stanley Donen in 1952, and they and they had two sons before their divorce in 1959. She was married to actor Robert Wagner from 1963 until their divorce in 1971, and is also survived by their daughter, Katie Wagner.
PATRICIA MARSHALL, 94 - December 11, 2018
Actress Patricia Marshall, the widow of screenwriter Larry Gelbart, died in Westwood, California, on December 11, 2018. She was born Marriam Patricia Murphy in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 13, 1924. She began her career on stage and appeared on Broadway in productions of "You'll See Stars" (1942), "What's Up" (1943), "Hats Off to Ice" (1944), "The Day Before Spring" (1945), "The Pajama Game" (1954), and "Mr. Wonderful" (1956). She was featured in the MGM musical film "Good News" in 1947. She was a singer for Steve Allen's "The Tonight Show" in the early 1950s. She largely retired from performing following her marriage to writer and producer Larry Gelbart in 1956. She returned to the screen in a small role in the 1975 Neil Simon comedy "The Prisoner of Second Avenue". She was also featured as a poker playing nurse in an episode of "M*A*S*H", created by her husband, in 1975. Marshall was married to Daniel Markowitz from 1947 until their divorce in 1956 and is survived by their two sons. A daughter, Cathy, died of cancer in 1998. She was married to Larry Gelbart from 1956 until his death in 2009, and is survived by their son and daughter.
PATRICE MARTINEZ, 55 - December 25, 2018
Actress Patrice Martinez, who starred as Victoria Escalante in the "Zorro" television series in the early 1990s, died after a long illness in Burbank, California, on December 25, 2018. Martinez was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on June 12, 1963. She made her film debut in her teens when she appeared in a small role in the 1978 film "Convoy" with her mother, Margarita Martinez-Cannon. She studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London in the 1980s. She starred as Carmen in the 1986 film "Three Amigos!", and was seen in the films "A Walk on the Moon" (1987), "Beetlejuice" (1988) as the receptionist, and "The Effects of Magic" (1998). She appeared on television in the 1987 tele-film "Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge", and episodes of "Miami Vice" and "Magnum, P.I." in the recurring role of Linda Lee Ellison. She starred as Victoria Escalante in the "Zorro" series with Duncan Regehr on the Family Channel from 1990 to 1993. She was a voice actress in episode of the animated "Phantom 2040" and appeared in an episode of "Air America". She was also featured in the German tele-film "Winnetous Rukkeehr" (1998). Martinez was married to Mexican producer Daniel Camhi from 1987 until their divorce in 1992.
PETER MASTERSON, 84 - December 18, 2018
Actor and writer Peter Masterson, who co-wrote the hit musical "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas", died of complications from a fall at his home in Kinderhook, New York, on December 18, 2018. He was born Carlos Bee Masterson, Jr. in Houston, Texas, on June 1, 1934. He attended Rice University and moved to New York City to pursue an acting career in the 1950s. He performed on Broadway in productions of "Marathon '33" (1963), "The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald" (1967) in the title role, "The Great White Hope" (1968), "That Championship Season" (1972), and "The Poison Tree" (1976). He appeared in the films "Ambush Bay" (1966), "In the Heat of the Night" (1967), "Counterpoint" (1968), "Von Richthofen and Brown" (1971), "Tomorrow" (1972), "The Exorcist" (1973), "Man on a Swing" (1974), "The Stepford Wives" (1975) as Walter Eberhart, "Witchfire" (1986), and "Gardens of Stone" (1987). He was seen on television in the tele-films "Pueblo" (1973), "Delta County, U.S.A."(1977), "The Quinns" (1977), "The Storyteller" (1977), and "A Question of Guilt" (1978), and episodes of "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre", "Death Valley Days", "N.Y.P.D.", "McMillan & Wife", and "Ryan's Hope". He and Larry L. King wrote the book for the hit Broadway musical "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas". He co-directed the 1978 Broadway production with Tommy Tune and earned two Tony nominations and a Drama Desk Award. His wife, Carlin Glynn, earned a Tony Award for her role as Mona. The musical was adapted for a 1982 film starring Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton. He also wrote and directed the less successful sequel "The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public" for Broadway in 1994. He directed the 1985 film adaptation of "The Trip to Bountiful", written by his cousin, Horton Foote. He also directed the films "Full Moon in Blue Water" (1988), "Night Game" (1989), "Blood Red" (1989), "Convicts" (1991), "Arctic Blue" (1993), "The Only Thrill" (1997) which he also produced, "Lost Junction" (2003), and "Whiskey School" (2005). He directed the 1996 tele-film adaptation of Foote's novel "Lily Dale", starring his daughter, Mary Stuart Masterson. He also produced the film "Terra Nova" (1998) and directed the tele-film "Mermaid" (2000). He married actress Carlin Glynn in 1960 and is survived by her and their three children, cameraman Peter Masterson, and actresses Mary Stuart Masterson and Alexandra Masterson.
JOHN McCARTHY, 88 - December 6, 2018
British actor John McCarthy died in a hospital in St. Lonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, England, on December 6, 2018. McCarthy was born in Croydon, London, England, on June 17, 1930. He studied surveying at Stanley Technical College before serving in the British Navy as part of national service in 1948. He worked as a surveyor for the Ministry of Supply after his discharge. He also worked as an actor, appearing in the films "The Electronic Monster" (1958), "Dublin Nightmare" (1958), "The Snake Woman" (1961), "The Road to Hong Kong" (1962), "Stranglehold" (1963), Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove" (1964), "Goldfinger" (1964), and "The Bedford Incident" (1965). He appeared on television in productions of "Ordeal by Fire" (1957), "The Cold Light" (1956), "Requiem for a Heavyweight" (1957), "Mother Courage and Her Children" (1959), "And Suddenly It's Spring" (1959), and "The Four Seasons of Rosie Carr" (1964). His other television credits include episodes of "Nom-de-Plume", "Educated Evans", "Charlesworth at Large", "William Tell", "The Flying Doctor", "International Detective", "Sir Francis Drake", "Man of the World", "The Sentimental Agent", "Espionage", "Armchair Theatre", "The Mask of Janus", "Public Eye", and "The Wednesday Play". He headed his father's construction company before retiring to Hastings/St. Leonard in 1986. McCarthy married actress Shirley Burniston in 1958, and they had two children before their subsequent divorce. He married Carolyn Mary Morgan in 1976, who also survives him.
BENNIE LEE McGOWAN, 87 - November 21, 2018
Actress Bennie Lee McGowan died in Mesa, Arizona, on November 21, 2018. She was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on July 17, 1931. She graduated from the University of Texas in Austin in the early 1950s before moving to New York City to pursue an acting career. She worked as a producer for the television series "Omnibus". She married George Gilbreath and they moved to Southern California, where they raised three children. She returned to Tulsa after their divorce, where she met and married Bill McGowan while performing on the local stage. She was featured as Gracie Moore in the early made-for-video horror films "Blood Cult" (1985) and "Revenge" (1986). She also appeared in the film "The Ripper" (1985), and episodes of "Nasty Boys", "Designing Women", "Days of Our Lives", and "Family Matters". She and her husband had a long stint performing in productions of "Oklahoma" at Discoveryland's outdoor theater. They continued to perform on stage while residing in Boise, Idaho, and Phoenix, Arizona. They remained together until his death in 2017. She is survived by her daughter and two sons.
CHRISTINE McGUIRE, 82 - December 28, 2018
Singer Christine McGuire, who was the eldest member of the McGuire Sisters singing trio, died at her home in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 28, 2018. She was born Ruby Christine McGuire in Middletown, Ohio, on July 30, 1926. She began singing with her sisters, Dorothy and Phyllis, as a child. They were performing at military bases and veteran's hospitals by the late 1940s. They later performed on local television before moving the New York City, where they appeared on "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" in 1952. They became regular performers on his "Arthur Godfrey and His Friends" from 1952 to 1957. They had hit recordings with their renditions of "Pine Treee, Pine Over Me", "Goodnight, Sweeetheart, Goodnight", "Muskrat Ramble", "Christmas Alphabet", "Sincerely", "Something's Gotta Give", "He", "Picnic", "Ev'ry Day of My Life", "Around the World in 80 Days", "Sugartime", "May You Always", "Just for Old Time's Sake", "Tears on My Pillow", and "Sugartime Twist". The McGuire Sisters also appeared in episodes of "The Pat Boone-Chevy Showroom", "The Jackie Gleason Show", "The Frank Sinatra Show", "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show", "The Steve Allen Plymouth Show", "The Phil Silvers Show", "What's My Line?", "The Jack Benny Hour", "The Garry Moore Show", "Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall", "Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium", "The Red Skelton Hour", "The Bell Telephone Hour", "The Hollywood Palace", "The Mike Douglas Show", "The Jimmy Dean Show", "The Dean Martin Show", "The Jerry Lewis Show", "The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", and "The New Hollywood Squares". The group broke up in 1968 and Phyllis embarked on a solo career. They reunited in the 1980s, performing at nightclubs in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and New York. Thy continued to make occasional appearances together through the early 2000s and Dorothy's death in 2012. The McGuire Sisters were inducted into the National Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001. Christine was married to Harold Ashcraft from 1942 until their divorce in 1950. She was married to John Teeter from 1952 until their divorce in 1962. She married Robert H. Spain in 1967, and they divorced in 1970. She was married to David Mudd from 2002 until his death in 2011. she had two sons from her first marriage, Asa, who died in 2015, and Harold, who survives her.
DON McKAY, 93 - December 26, 2018
Actor Don McKay died in Manhattan, New York, on December 26, 2018. McKay was born in Buttermilk Hill, West Virginia, on January 28, 1925. He began performing on stage in the late 1940s in the Chicago area. He made his Broadway debut in the musical "Make A Wish" in 1951 and appeared in "Top Banana" later in the year. He was best known for his role as Tony in the West End premier of "West Side Story" in 1958 and the Broadway revival in 1964. He appeared in productions of "Show Boat" and "On The Town" in London. He was a dancer in the 1954 film "A Star Is Born" with Judy Garland. He was also seen on television in the variety series "Washington Square", "Showtime", "Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium", "The Bell Telephone Hour", and the "Producers' Showcase" production of "Ruggles of Red Gap" in 1957. McKay later moved to Connecticut where he taught voice and performed in regional theater.
ROSENDA MONTEROS, 83 - December 29, 2018
Mexican actress Rosenda Monteros, who was the female lead in the western classic "The Magnificent Seven", died of cancer in Mexico City, Mexico, on December 29, 2018. She was born Rosa Mendez Leza in Veracruz, Mexico, on August 31, 1935. She trained as an actress and moved to Mexico City to perform on stage in her teens. She was featured in the films "Reto a la Vida" (1954), "Llevame en tus Brazos" (1954), "The White Orchid" (1954), "Maria la Voz" (1955), "A Woman's Devotion" (1956), "Feliz Ano, Amor Mio" (1957), "El Diario de Mi Madre" (1958), "Las Tres Pelonas" (1958), "Villa!!" (1958), "The Big Drop" (1958), "Nazarin" (1959), "Sabado Negro" (1959), "La Ciudad Sagrada" (1959), and "Skeleton of Mrs. Morales" (1960). She starred as Petra in John Sturges' western classic "The Magnificent Seven" (1960) starring Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen. She continued her career in films in Mexico, the United States, and Europe during the 1960s. She was seen in "Los Cuervos" (1961), "Tiara Tahiti" (1962), "The Mighty Jungle" (1964), the Hammer feature "She" (1965) starring Ursula Andress and Christopher Lee, "Ninette y un Senor de Murcia" (1966), "Savage Pampas" (1966) with Robert Taylor, "Eve" (1968), "Bring a Little Loving" (1968), "Un Extrano en la Casa" (1968), "Cauldron of Blood" (1970) with Boris Karloff, "Los Perros de Dios" (1974), "Rapina" (1975), "Las Siete Cucas" (1981), and "La Casa de Bernarda Alba" (1982). she appeared on television in an episode of "Captain David Grief", and productions of "Cuidado Con el Angel" (1960), "Les Indiens" (1964), "Valeria" (1965), "Espejismo Brillaba" (1966), "De Turno Con la Angustia" (1969), "La Sonrisa del Diablo" (1970), "Lucia Sombra" (1971), "Los Miserables" (1973), "La Casa de Bernarda Alba" (1974), "Santa" (1978), "Vamos Juntos" (1979), "Winnetou le Mescalero" (1980), "La Madre" (1980), "Los Pardaillan" (1981), "Cuando los Hijos se Van" (1983), "El Amor No es Como la Pintan" (2000), and "Lo Que Callamos Las Mujeres" (2007). She was married to director Julio Bracho from 1955 until their divorce in 1957.
STAFFORD MORGAN - October 18, 2018
Actor Stafford Morgan died on October 18, 2018. He began acting in films and television in the late 1960s. He was seen on television in episodes of "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.", "Daniel Boone", "Search", "Police Story", "The F.B.I.", "Starksy and Hutch", "Operation Petticoat", "CHiPs", "The Dukes of Hazzard", "The Master", "Hotel", and "Hunter". He also appeared in the tele-films "Night Chase" (1970), "Nowhere To Hide" (1977), "Big Bob Johnson and His Fantastic Speed Circus" (1978), and "Mr. Horn" (1979). Morgan was seen in the films "Targets" (1968) with Boris Karloff, "Run, Angel, Run!" (1969), "This Is A Hijack" (1973), "Cleopatra Jones" (1973), "Schoolgirls in Chains" (1973), "The Gravy Train" (1974), "The Witch Who Came From The Sea" (1976), "The Zebra Force" (1976), "Hollywood Man" (1976), "The Alpha Incident" (1978), "The Capture of Bigfoot" (1979), "Up Yours" (1979), "The Stunt Man" (1980), "The Forest" (1982), "In Search Of A Golden Sky" (1984), "Hollywood Hot Tubs" (1984), "Another 48 Hrs." (1990), "Die Hard 2" (1990), and "Wild Orchid II: Two Shades of Blue" (1991).
DOROTHY MORRISON, 98 - October 18, 2017
Child actress Dorothy Morrison Green died on October 28, 2017. Morrison was born in Los Angeles, California, on January 3, 1919. She appeared in several comedy shorts with Hal Roach's Rascals, later known as "Our Gang", including "The Champeen" (1923), "Seein' Things" (1924), and "The Love Bug" (1925). She was featured in the comedy short "Isn't Life Terrible?" (1925) with Charlie Chase, and appeared with Stepin Fetchit in the 1929 feature film "Hearts in Dixie". She made her final appearance in the 1936 comedy short "Sleepless Hollow". Her older brother, Ernie 'Sunshine Sammy' Morrison, also appeared in the "Our Gang" series, and their father, "Ernie Morrison, Sr., was also featured in several of the shorts.
SONO OSATO, 99 - December 26, 2018
Dancer and actress Sono Osato was found dead at her home in Manhattan, New York, on December 26, 2018. Osato was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on August 29, 1919. Her father was a Japanese photographer and her mother was an Irish-French Canadian actress. She trained as a dancer under Berenice Holmes and joined Wassily de Basil's Ballets Russes at the age of 14. She left the company in the late 1930s to join the American Ballet Theater, where she became one of the leading dancers of modern ballet. She appeared in several productions by Antony Tudor including "Romeo and Juliet" and "Pillar of Fire". Osato's career was damaged by anti-Japanese sentiment following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, and she briefly adopted her mother's maiden name to perform as Sono Fitzpatrick. She performed on Broadway in productions of "One Touch of Venus" (1943), "On the Town" (1944), "Ballet Ballads" (1948), and "Peer Gynt" (1951). Osato appeared with Frank Sinatra in the 1948 film "The Kissing Bandit". She appeared on television in a 1950 episodes of "The Adventures of Ellery Queen", "The Colgate Comedy Hour", "The Arthur Murray Party", and "One Night Stand", and a production of "Pagoda" (1952) for "Studio One in Hollywood". She was also seen in the 1958 production of "Gold Rush" for "The Seven Lively Arts", and "Murder and the Android" (1959) for "Sunday Showcase". She retired from performing by the late 1950s. Her autobiography, "Distant Dances", was published in 1980. A dance production of her life, "Sono's Journey", was presented by the Thodos Dance Company in Chicago in 2016. Ono was married to architect Victor Elmaleh from 1943 until his death in 2014 and is survived by their two sons.
ROBERT PADILLA, 84 - May 7, 2018
Actor Robert Padilla died in Monroe, Washington, on May 7, 2018. Padilla was born in Las Vegas, New Mexico, on June 1, 1933. He appeared in films and television from the late 1960s, often in Native American roles in westerns. He was seen in such films as "Scandalous John" (1971), "Machismo: 40 Graves for 40 Guns" (1971), "The Devil and Leroy Bassett" (1973), "The Great Gundown" (1977), "The Frisco Kid" (1979), "Twisted Nightmare" (1987), "October 32nd" (1993), "Cthulhu" (2007), and "Love Ranch" (2010). He also appeared on television in episodes of "Mission: Impossible", "Bonanza", "Men at Law", "How the West Was Won" as Mountain-Is-Long in 1977, and the mini-series "The Awakening Land" in 1978. He was married to Shirley Padilla for thirty years prior to their divorce, and they had nine children together. He was predeceased by a daughter and is survived by his eight remaining children.
ROY PATRICK, 92 - December 18, 2018
British actor Roy Patrick died in Meads, Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, on December 18, 2018. He was born Roy Patrick Donaldson in Auckland, New Zealand, on April 4, 1926. He moved to England in the 1950s, here he was seen in productions of "Blood Wedding" (1959), "Mine Own Executioner" (1959), "The Assassins" (1960), "Rashomon" (1961), "Jack's Horrible Luck" (1961), "Acquit Or Hang" (1964), "Resurrection" (1968), and "Tower Of London: The Innocent" (1969). His other credits include episodes of "Hancock's Half Hour", "Top Secret", "Maigret", "Garry Halliday", "Dixon of Dock Green", "The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre", "Crane", "Richard The Lionheart", "Espionage", "Teletale", "First Night", "Festival", "Drama `61", "Story Parade", "Crossroads", "Londoners", "The Saint", "No Hiding Place", "The Master", "The Wednesday Play", "The Avengers", "St. Ives", "Mickey Dunne", "Half Hour Story", "Freewheelers", "Vendetta", "Adventure Weekly", "Out Of The Unknown", "The Troubleshooters", "Please Sir!", "The Borderers", "Wicked Woman", "Softly Softly: Task Force", and "Jason King". Patrick appeared in several films, including "The Road To Hong Kong" (1962), "The Set Up" (1963), "Rattle of a Simple Man" (1964), and "War-Gods Of The Deep" (1965). He largely retired from the screen in the 1970s to concentrate on stage. He performed in numerous regional and East End productions. He also wrote and produced musical shows for cruise ship entertainment. Patrick is survived by his long-time companion and husband Bill Allison.
MURIEL PAVLOW, 97 - January 19, 2019
British actress Muriel Pavlow died in England on January 19, 2019. Pavlow was born in Lewisham, South Easst London, on June 27, 1921. She began her career on stage in her early teens and was featured in theatrical productions of "The Old Maid" (1936), "Oedipus Rex" (1936), "Victoria Regina" (1937), and "Dear Octopus" (1938). She made her film debut in a small role in the 1934 musical comedy "Sing As We Go!" with Gracie Fields, and made her television debut in an early BBC broadcast of "Hansel and Gretel" as Gretel in 1937. She was also seen in the films "A Romance in Flanders" (1937), "John Halifax" (1938), "Quiet Wedding" (1941), and "Night Boat to Dublin" (1946). She married actor Derek Farr in 1947 and they starred together in the film "Cody of Scotland Yard" (1947). She remained a popular stage star, appearing in numerous Shakespearean productions. She was also a leading film actress from the 1950s with roles in "It Started in Paradise" (1952), "Project M7" (1953), "Malta Story" (1953) with Alec Guinness, "Doctor in the House" (1954), "Fuss Over Feathers" (1954), "Simon and Laura" (1955), "Reach for the Sky" (1956) with Kennedy More as pilot Douglas Bader, "Eyewitness" (1956), "Tiger in the Smoke" (1956), "Doctor at Large" (1957) opposite Dirk Bogarde, "Rooney" (1958), "Whirlpool" (1959), and "Murder She Said" (1961) with Margaret Rutherford as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Pavlow appeared on television in productions of "Peter and Paul" (1946), "Weep for the Cyclops" (1947), "Hamlet" (1947) as Ophelia, "Spring at Marino" (1951), "Breakers Ahead" (1951), "The Day of Glory" (1951), "The Mollusc" (1952), "All on a Summer's Day" (1953), "The Safe Haven" (1955), "Hedgehog" (1962), "The Last Evensong" (1987), "The Rector's Wife" (1994), "Oliver's Travels" (1995), "The Final Cut" (1995), "Daisies in December" (1995), "Heaven on Earth" (1998), "Hoitel!" (2001), "Perfect Strangers" (2001), and "Belonging" (2004). Her other television credits include episodes of "Rheingold Theatre", "Jezebel ex UK", "Zero One", "R3", "Call My Bluff", "The Brian Rix Theatre of Laughter", "Dixon of Dock Green", "Emmerdale" as Janet Thompson in 1977, "The Ravelled Thread", "Sunday Premiere", "Boon", "Surgical Spirit", "The Bill", "May to December", "Crown Prosecutor", "British Men Behaving Badly", "Poirot", and "Coupling". She returned to the screen in a cameo role in the 2009 film "Glorious 39". She later entered the actors' care home in Denville Hall in Northwood, Hillingdon England. Pavlow remained married to Farr until his death in 1986.
ROBERT PHILLIPS, 93 - November 5, 2018
Actor Robert Phillips died on November 5, 2018. Phillips was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 10, 1925. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and played professional football for the Washington Redskins and the Chicago Bears. He worked for the Los Angeles Police Department before turning to acting in the 1950s. He was featured in such films as "Code Two" (1953), "Unidentified Flying Objects" (1956), "The Gun Runners" (1958), "Hell Is For Heroes" (1962), "The Killers" (1964), "Cat Ballou" (1965), "The Silencers" (1966), "Dimension 5" (1966), "The Dirty Dozen" (1967), "Hour of the Gun" (1967), "Mackenna's Gold" (1969), "Darker Thank Amber" (1970), "Slaughter" (1972), "The Student Teachers" (1973), "Detroit 9000" (1973), "The Slams" (1973), "I Escaped From Devil's Island" (1973), "The Gravy Train" (1974), "Capone" (1975) as Bugs Moran, "Mitchell" (1975), "Mean Johnny Barrows" (1975), "Adios Amigo" (1975), "The Killing of A Chinese Bookie" (1976), "The Car" (1977), "Final Chapter: Walking Tall" (1977), "Telephon" (1977), "Delta Pi" (1984), "Cry Freedom" (1987), "Red Nights" (1988), and "A Time To Revenge" (1997). He was seen on television in episodes of "Everglades", "Arrest and Trial", "Temple Houston", "The Rogues", "Ben Casey", "The Loner", "Star Trek" in the original pilot episode "The Cage", "Rawhide", "Laredo", "Batman", "Dr. Kildare", "Bonanza", "The Felony Squad", "The High Chaparral", "Cimarron Strip", "The Wild Wild West", "The Outcasts", "Mannix", "The F.B.I.", "Mission: Impossible", "Banyon", "Hec Ramsey", "Mod Squad", "Toma", "The Rookies", "Dusty's Trail", "The New Perry Mason", "Shaft", "Chopper One", "Gunsmoke", "Kung Fu", "Get Christie Love!", "Planet of the Apes", "Cannon", "Police Woman", "Police Story", "The Quest", "McCloud", "The Incredible Hulk", "How The West Was Won", "The Rockford Files", "Vega$", "The Dukes of Hazzard", "Knight Rider", "The Fall Guy", and "Bordertown". He also appeared in the tele-films "Yuma" (1971), "Moon of the Wolf" (1972), "The Gun and the Pulpit" (1974), "Cop on the Beat" (1975), "The Ultimate Imposter" (1979), and "The Big Black Pill" (1981).
FLORA PLUMB, 73 - July 18, 2018
Actress Flora Plumb died of cancer on July 18, 2018. Plumb was born in Los Angeles, California, on October 14, 1944. She was seen on television from the late 1960s, with roles in episodes of "The Wild Wild West", "Then Came Bronson", "Bracken's World", "Marcus Welby, M.D.", "The F.B.I.", "The Young Lawyers", "Cade's County", "Mod Squad", "Dusty's Trail", "Mannix", "Police Story", the soap opera 'for Richer, for Poorer" as Eleanor Saxton Kimball from 1977 to 1978, "Lou Grant", "The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo", "Quincy", "Silk Stalkings", "The District", and "Mad Men". She was featured in the 1978 film "Malibu Beach", and was later seen in the shorts "Death Panel" (2010) and "Song for Lindy" (2015). She performed frequently on stage, and worked with Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills for many years. She taught acting and directing at Los Angeles County High School for the Artis for 25 years. Plumb married Richard Johnson in 1984, who survives her.
JOE PONAZECKI, 83 - January 15, 2018
Actor Joe Ponazecki died on January 15, 2018. Ponazecki was born in Rochester, New York, on January 7, 1934. He began his career on stage in the 1950s and was seen on Broadway in productions of "Much Ado About Nothing" (1959), "Send Me No Flowers" (1960), "A Call On Kuprin" (1961), "Take Her, She's Mine" (1961), "Fiddler On The Roof" (1964), "Xmas in Las Vegas" (1965), "3 Bags Full" (1966), "Love in E Flat" (1967), "The Ninety Day Mistress" (1967), "Does A Tiger Wear A Necktie?" (1969), "Harvey" (1970), "The Trial of The Catonsville Nine" (1971), "The Country Girl" (1972), "The Freedom of the City" (1974), "Same Time, Next Year" (1975), "Summer Brave" (1975), "Music Is" (1976), "The Little Foxes" (1981), and "Prelude To A Kiss" (1990). He was featured in a handful of films including "What's So Bad About Feeling Good?" (1968), "Class of `44" (1973), "Man on A Swing" (1974), "The Money Pit" (1986), "Jeffrey" (1995), and "Puppet" (1999). He appeared on television in episodes of "The Defenders", "Route 66", "Another World", "N.Y.P.D.", "Ironside", "Sesame Street" as Wally from 1972 to 1974, "The Secret Storm" as Reilly from 1973 to 1974, "Ryan's Hope" as Phil Hersh in 1980, "Tales from the Darkside", "American Playhouse", "Guiding Light", "All My Children", "Law & Order", and "Ed" in the recurring role the Judge in 2001. He was also seen in the tele-films "The Tenth Month" (1979), "The Gentleman Bandit" (1981), "The Cradle Will Fall" (1983), and "The Brass Ring" (1983).
GILLIAN RAINE, 91 - June 19, 2018
British actress Gillian Raine died in England on June 19, 2018. She was born Gillian Mary Lorraine in Ceylon on December 28, 1926. She began her career on stage in repertory, and appeared on Broadway in the 1963 revival of "Semi-Detached". She was seen frequently on television from the 1950s. She was seen in episodes of "My Friend Charles", "The Secret Garden", "Deadline Midnight", "You Can't Win", "Jezebel ex UK", "Boyd Q.C.", "Londoners", "The Troubleshooters", "No Hiding Place", "Public Eye", "Armchair Theatre", "ITV Playhouse", "Z Cars", "Detective", "The Root of All Evil?", "Kate", "Wicked Women", "Dr. Finlay's Casebook", "Trial" as Peggy Crawford in 1971, "Home and Away", "The Pearcrosss Girls", "Zodiac", "Special Branch", "The Case of Eliza Armstrong", "The Loner", "The Main Chance", "Crown Court", "The Crezz", "The Velvet Glove", "The Galton & Simpson Playhouse", "1990", "Within These Walls", "The Law Centre", "Heartland", "Born and Bred" as Daphne Benge from 1978 to 1980, "Theatre Box", "The Gentle Touch", "BBC2 Playhouse", "Educating Maralade" as Mrs. Allgood from 1982 to 1983, "Danger: Marmalade at Work", "Summer Season", "Vanity Fair" (1987) as Mrs. Smedley in 1987, "A Very Peculiar Practice" as Mrs Kramer from 1986 to 1988, "Wish Me Luck" as Marie Ferrier in 1989, "Singles", "Screen Two", "Screen One", "The Good Guys", "Mr. Wakefield's Crusade", "Under the Hammer", "Casualty", "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates", "The Bill", "Harbour Lights" as Nancy Ford in 1999, "Kiss Me Kate", "Heartbeat", "New Tricks", and "The Hour". Her other television credits include productions of "The Curious Savage" (1958), "The Test" (1961), "This Happy Breed" (1969), "The Engagement" (1970), "Who Killed Lamb?" (1974), "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1976), "Another Flip for Dominick" (1982) on "Play for Today", "Diana" (1984) as Drip, "The Good Doctor Bodkin-Adams" (1986), "The Charmer" (1987), "Skulduggery" (1989), "Life After Life" (1990), "Suddenly, Last Summer" (1993), "Anna Lee: Headcase" (1993), "Love on a Branch Line" (1994), and "Small Island" (2009). She was featured in the 1968 film "Last of the Long-Haired Boys". Raine was involved with actor Leonard Rossiter from the early 1960s, and was his wife from 1972 until his death in 1984, and is survived by their daughter, Camilla.
LAYA RAKI, 91 - December 21, 2018
German actress Laya Raki died in Hollywood, California, on December 21, 2018. She was born Brunhilde Marie Joerns in Hamburg, Germany, on July 27, 1927. She was the daughter of acrobats Wilhelm Jorns and Maria Althoff. She began her career as an exotic dancer in Frankfurt in the late 1940s. She became known as the black-haired volcano as a performer and pin-up, and achieved fame throughout Europe. She her film debut in "Third from the Right" in 1950 and was soon appearing in films in Europe and the United States. Her films include "Der Rat der Gotter" (1950), "Ehe fur Eine Hacht" (1953), "Die Rose von Stambul" (1953), "Land of Fury" (1954) with Jack Hawkins, "Up to His Neck" (1954), "The Beginning Was Sin" (1954), "The Ambassador's Wife" (1955), "Camino Cortado" (1955), "Quentin Durward" (1955), "Kuss Mich Noch Einmal" (1956), "Roter Mohn" (1956), "Song of Naples" (1957), "Nylon Noose" (1963), "Das Ratel der Roten Quaste" (1963), "The Gallant One" (1964), "Das Haus auf dem Hugel" (1964), "The Poppy Is Also a Flower" (1966), and "Savage Pampas" (1966). Raki appeared on television in episodes of "O.S.S.", "Hawaiian Eye", "One Step Beyond", "Tales of Wells Fargo", "The Beachcomber", and "I Spy". She was featured as Halima in the British adventure series "Crane" with Patrick Allen from 1963 to 1965. She retired from the screen in the mid-1960s. Raki was married to actor Ron Randell from 1958 until his death in 2018. She was married to Lockheed executive Duane O. Wood from 2009 until his death in July of 2018 at age 102.
ODILE RODIN, 81 - December 12, 2018
French actress and model Odile Rodin died on December 12, 2018. She was born Odile Berard in Lyon, France, on February 21, 1937. She attended the Conservatoire National d'Art Dramatique in Paris and appeared in the films "School for Love" (1955) and "If Paris Were Told to Us" (1956). She starred in a theatrical production of Marcel Pagnol's play "Fabien" in Paris in 1956. She was also a leading model and appeared on the cover of "Paris Match". She abandoned her acting career after her marriage to Dominican diplomat, race car driver, and international playboy Porfirio Rubirosa. She and her husband were part of the jet set scene, and were associated with the Kennedy family and Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack. Rodin was widowed when Rubirosa smashed his Ferrari into a tree in Paris after a late night party in 1965. She moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she lived in relative seclusion. She had a brief marriage to businessman Paulo Marinho, and reportedly married an American and settled in New England.
TIM ROSSOVICH, 72 - December 6, 2018
Football player turned actor Tim Rossovich died after a long illness in Sacramento, California, on December 6, 2018. Rossovich was born in Palo Alto, California, on March 14, 1946. He played football at the University of Southern California, where Tom Selleck was his college roommmate. He was a first round pick in the NFL draft in 1968. He was a linebacker with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1968 to 1971 and the San Diego Chargers from 1972 to 1973. He played with the Philadelphia Bell in the short-lived World Football League (WFL) from 1974 to 1975, and ended his career with the Houston Oilers in 1976. He soon began working in films, performing stunts in 1978's "Hooper" and the 1979 tele-films "Disaster on the Coastliner" and "Goldie and the Boxer". He was soon appearing in small roles in such features as "The Main Event" (1979), "The Ninth Configuration" (1980), "The Long Riders" (1980), Cheech & Chong's "Nice Dreams" (1981), "Looker" (1981), "Night Shift" (1982), "Trick or Treats" (1982), "Fake-Out" (1982), "The Sting II" (1983), "Cloak & Dagger" (1984), "Avenging Angel" (1985), "Stick" (1985), "Johnny Be Good" (1988), "Fists of Steel" (1989), and "Secret Agent OO Soul" (1990). He appeared on television in episodes of "Soap", "The San Pedro Beach Bums", "Turnabout", "Wonder Woman", "Charlie's Angels", the short-lived comedy "When the Whistle Blows" as Martin 'Hunk' Kincaid, "Fantasy Island", "Voyagers!", "Ace Crawford... Private Eye", "Matt Houston", "Hart to Hart", "The A-Team", "Trapper John, M.D.", "Automan", "Brothers", "Knight Rider", "Cover Up", "Remington Steele", "Simon & Simon", "The Love Boat", "The Fall Guy", "ALF", "Perfect Strangers", "The New Mike Hammer", "1st & Ten: The Championship", "Crime Story", "Magnum, P.I." in several episodes with college roommate Selleck, "Hunter", "CBS Schoolbreak Special", "MacGyver", "Jake and the Fatman", "Drexell's Class", "Harry and the Hendersons", "Baywatch", and "Mike Hammer, Private Eye". He was married to Michel Karin Tritt from 1966 until their divorce in 1973. He later married Lauren Rose McGuire, who survives him.
ROBERT RUTH, 82 - December 29, 2018
Actor Robert Ruth died of complications from pneumonia in Torrance, California, on December 29, 2018. Ruth was born in Chicago, Illinois, on January 1, 1936. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. He trained as an actor at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. He began his career on screen in an episode of "Route 66: and in a small role in the 1969 film "They Shoot Horses Don't They?". He moved to California, where he appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" as a member of The Mighty Carson Art Players over sixty times. He was also seen on television in episodes of "Green Acres", "Mission: Impossible", "Mannix", "The Magician", "Veronica Clare" in the recurring role of Sergeant Tweed in 1991, "Frasier", "The Pretender", and "Everybody Loves Raymond" as pizzeria owner Nemo in a pair of episodes in 2001. He also appeared in the tele-films "White Mama" (1980) and "Lots of Luck" (1985). He was featured in the films "Dogpound Shuffle" (1975), "Swashbuckler" (1976), "Separate Ways" (1981), "Winners Take All" (1987), "For Keeps?" (1988), "The Sleeping Car" (1990), Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" (1992) and "Pulp Fiction" (1994), "My Brother Jack" (1997), "Dilemma" (1997), "The Escort" (1997), the animated "A Bug's Life" (1998) as the voice of a cockroach, "Air Rage" (2001), and "Catch Me If You Can" (2002). Ruth's survivors include three children.
CARLOS SANCHEZ, 83 - December 29, 2018
Colombian actor Carlos Sanchez, who was the commercial spokesman for Colombian coffee in the role of Juan Valdez, died in Colombia on December 29, 2018. Sanchez was born in Fredonia, Colombia, in 1935. Sanchez was a coffee grower himself in his youth before attending the University of Antioquia and becoming a painter. He attended acting school in Cali in 1950. Jose F. Duval had originated the role of Juan Valdez in 1959 for advertisements designed by the Doyle Dane Bernbach advertising agency for the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia. Sanchez took over the role in 1969. He appeared in countless commercials with his wide-brimmed hat, bushy mustache, and mule named Conchita. He picked coffee beans on a Colombian hillside while a commercial narrator would espouse the attributes of "the richest coffee in the world." He appeared in a cameo role in the 2003 film comedy "Bruce Almighty" starring Jim Carrey. He retired from the role in 2006, and Carlos Castaneda became the new Juan Valdez. Sanchez is survived by his wife and two sons.
DAVID SHEPHERD, 94 - December 17, 2018
Actor David Shepherd, who was co-founder of the Chicago improvisational group The Compass Players, died in Holyoke, Massachusetts, on December 17, 2018. Shepherdn was born in New York City on October 10, 1924. He attended Harvard University but was forced to suspend his studies to serve in the field artillery with the U.S. Army in World War II. He returned to graduate, and earned a master's degree in the history of theater from Columbia. He later moved to Chicago where he was co-founder of the Playwrights Theatre Club in 1953. He teamed with Paul Sills to found the Compass Players, a pioneering improvisational troupe, in 1955. Shepherd was producer, actor, and occastional director, working with such comic talent as Mike Nichols, Elaine May, and Shelley Berman. Compass closed in Chicago in 1957, and evolved into the Second City in 1959, though Shepherd declined to become involved. He tried to resurrect the Compass Players in St. Louis and other cities over the next several years. He continued to focus on improvisational theater throughout his career, teaching workshops and co-creating the Canadian Improv Games for high schools. He was author of the 2005 books "That Movie in Your Head: Guide to Improvising Stories on Video". He was subject of the 2010 documentary film "David Shepherd: A Lifetime of Improvisational Theater". He was married and divorced from actress Suzanne Stern and Constance Carr. He married Nancy Fletcher in 2005, and she survives him. A son, Evan, died in 2011, and he is survived by a daughter, Kate.
W. MORGAN SHEPPARD, 86 - January 6, 2019
British actor W. Morgan Sheppard died in Los Angeles, California, on January 6, 2019. Sheppard was born in London, England, on August 24, 1932. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1958. He performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company for over a decade. He made his Broadway debut in the 1965 production of "The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade", and was featured in the 1967 film version. He also appeared in the 1974 Broadway revival of "Sherlock Holmes". He was seen in the films "The Duellists" (1977), "Rachel and the Beelzebub Bombardiers" (1977), "The Sea Wolves" (1980), "The Elephant Man" (1980), "Hawk the Slayer" (1980), "Nutcracker" (1982), "The Keep" (1983), "Lassiter" (1984), "The Doctor and the Devils" (1985), "Lady Jane" (1986), "Cry Freedom" (19870, "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark" (1988), "Lucky Stiff" (1988), "Wild at Heart" (1990), "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" (1991) as the Klingon Commander, "There Goes the Neighborhood" (1992), "Needful Things" (1993), "Gettysburg" (1993), "Taking Liberty" (1993), "Nether World" (1997), "Hurricane Festival" (1998), "The Hungry Bachelors Club" (1999), "Room 101" (2001), "Gods and Generals" (2003), "Small Town Conspiracy" (2003), "Soldiers of God" (2005), "Love's Abiding Joy" (2006), "The Prestige" (2006), "Transformers" (2007), "Along the Way" (2007), "Over Her Dead Body" (2008), "So Long Jimmy" (2008), "Japan" (2008), "Star Trek" (2009), "Mysterious Island" (2010) as Captain Nemo, "For Christ's Sake" (2010), "Meeting Spencer" (2011), "The Last Mark" (2012), "The Devil's Dozen" (2013), "April Apocalypse" (2013), and "Last Man Club" (2016). He appeared frequently on television with roles in episodes of "Theatre Night", "The Expert", "The Up and Down, In and Out, Round About Man", "Crown Court", "New Scotland Yard", "Dial M for Murder", "Marked Personal", "Churchill's People", "The Sweeney", "Life and Death of Penelope", "Z Cars", "The New Avengers", "Target", "London Belongs to Me" as Henry Knockell in 1977, "When the Boat Comes In", "Enemy at the Door", "The Cedar Tree", "Out", "The Onedin Line", "The Legend of King Arthur", "The Professionals", "Minder", "Sherlock Holms and Doctor Watson", "Play for Today", "Saturday Night Thriller", "Rosie", "The Outsider", "C.A.T.S. Eyes", "Werewolf", "Max Headroom" as Blank Reg from 1987 to 1988, "Star Trek: The Next Generation", "We Are Seven", "William Tell", "MacGyver", "Designing Women", "Quantum Leap", "SeaQuest", "DSV" as the Professor from 1993 to 1994, "Murder, She Wrote", "Frasier", "Babylon 5", "Poltergeist: The Legacy", "American Gothic", "Timecop", "JAG", "Tracey Takes On.", "Star Trek: Voyager", "Diagnosis Murder", "Days of Our Lives", "Crossing Jordan", "Charmed", "Kingdom Hospital", "Alias", "Cold Case", "Gilmore Girls", "Criminal Minds", "NCIS", "Mad Men", "Doctor Who", "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", "Dexter", and "The Librarians". His other television credits include the tele-films "The Roses of Eyam" (1973), "Antony and Cleopatra" (1974), "Act of Rape" (1977), "The Nativity" (1978), "Rebecca" (1979), "A Family Affair" (1979), "Showgun" (1980), "Carpathian Eagle" (1980) on "Hammer House of Horror", "Masada" (1981), "Smuggler" (1981), "The Day of the Triffids" (1981), "The Flame Trees of Thika" (1981), "Stalky & Co." (1982), "The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood" (1984), "Paint Me a Murder" (1984), "Camille" (1984), "The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission" (1985), "Return to Treasure Island" (1986), "Oedipus at Colonus" (1986), "Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge" (1987), "Seductions: Three Tales from the Inner Sanctum" (1992), "Good King Wenceslas" (1994), "Following Her Heart" (1994), "The Lottery" (1996), "Sometimes They Come Back. Again" (1996), "Goldrush: A Real Life Alaskan Adventure" (1998), "The Escape" (1998), "Murder, She Wrote: The Celtic Riddle" (2003), "Love's Long Journey" (2005), "A Stranger's Heart" (2007), and "Farewell Mr. Kringle" (2010). He provided voices for numerous video games including "Medal of Honor", "Star Wars: Force Commander", "Escape from Monkey Island", "Metal Gear Solid", and "The Chronicles of Riddick". He was a voice actor in the animated films "Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World" (1998), "Treasure of Pirate's Point" (1999), "Friends Are Forever: Tales of the Little Princess" (2001), and "Atlantis: Milo's Return" (2003). He was also a voice actor for television productions of "The Legend of Prince Valiant", "Biker Mice from Mars", "Gargoyles", "Mighty Ducks", "Timon & Pumbaa", "The Wild Thornberrys", "I My Me! Strawberry Eggs", "Hellsing", "Justice League", "Texhnolyze", "Licensed by Royalty", "R.O.D. the TV", "Legend of the Seeker", "Prep & Landing", and "Young Justice". Sheppard is survived by his son, actor Mark Sheppard.
ROY SKEGGS, 84 - December 29, 2018
British film producer Roy Skeggs, who took control of Hammer Films in the late 1970s and was instrumental in creating the "Hammer House of Horror" television series, died in England on December 29, 2018. Skeggs was born in Barnet, Middlesex, England, in April of 1934. He began working in films as an assistant accountant for Douglas Fairbanks Productions in the mid-1950, and was a production accountant at Bray Studios by the early 1960s. He joined Hammer Films as a production supervisor in 1970, and worked on the films "On the Buses" (1971), "Twins of Evil" (1971), "Blood from the Mummy's Tomb" (1971), "Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde" (1971), "Vampire Circus" (1972), "Mutiny on the Buses" (1972), "Dracula A.D. 1972" (1972), "Fear in the Night" (1972), "Demons of the Mind" (1972), "That's Your Funeral" (1972) also appearing onscreen in a cameo role, "Holiday on the Buses" (1973), and "Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter" (1974). He was a producer for the films "Nearest and Dearest" (1972), "Love Thy Neighbour" (1973), "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" (1973), "Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell" (1974), "The Best of Benny Hill" (1974), "Man About the House" (1974), and "To the Devil - A Daughter" (1976). He and Brian Lawrence resigned from Hammer to form their own production company, Cinema Arts, in the late 1970s, and produced the films "Rising Damp" (1980) and "George and Mildred" (1980). They took over Hammer when it fell into receivership in 1979, and Skeggs became chairman on the studio. He served as producer of the television anthology series "Hammer House of Horror" in 1980, which included a baker's dozen of horror productions that were released on video as films including "Witching Time", "The Thirteenth Reunion", "Rude Awakening", "Growing Pains", "The House That Bled to Death", "Charlie Boy", "The Silent Scream", "Children of the Full Moon", "Carpathian Eagle", "Guardian of the Abyss", "Visitor from the Grave", "The Two Faces of Evil", and "The Mark of Satan". He also produced "The Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense" (aka "Fox Mystery Theater") in 1984 which included "Mark of the Devil", "Last Video and Testament", "The Sweet Scent of Death", "Black Carrion", "The Corvini Inheritance", "Czech Mate", "A Distant Scream", "In Possession", "The Late Nancy Irving", "Tennis Court", and "Child's Play". Hammer largely ceased production by the mid-1980s, though Skeggs remained majority shareowner until selling the studio to a consortium headed by Charles Saatchi in the late 1990s.
MARY KAY STEARNS, 93 - November 17, 2018
Actress Mary Kay Stearns, who starred in the early television sitcom "Mary Kay and Johnny" in the late 1940s, died in Newport Beach, California, on November 17, 2018. She was born Mary Katherine Jones in Glendale, California, on October 27, 1925. She began performing as an actress and singer at The Pasadena Playhouse at age 2. She later performed on Broadway in productions of "Dear Ruth" (1944) and "Strange Bedfellows" (1948). She also appeared in a small role in the 1946 film "Our Hearts Were Growing Up". She married actor and producer Johnny Stearns in 1946 and he starred with her in a fictionalized account of their marriage in the sitcom "Mary Kay and Johnny" from 1947 to 1950. She also appeared on television in episodes of "Armstrong Circle Theatre" and a production of "A Kiss For Cinderella" on "Kraft Theatre" in 1952. She hosted the short-lived series "Mary Kay's Nightcap" and was a commercial spokesman with her husband for U.S. Steel. She also continued to perform on stage. She was widowed when Johnny Stearns died in 2001 and is survived by their three children.
BETTY UNDERWOOD, 93 - November 9, 2018
Actress and model Betty Underwood died in Los Angeles, California, on November 9, 2018. Underwood was born in Madison, Ohio, on July 4, 1925. She began studying dance as a child and moved to New York City in her late teens to become a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall. She was also a model for the Powers Agency, and soon began appearing in such short films as "Bachelor Blues" (1948), "Backstage Follies" (1948), "Oil's Well That Ends Well" (1949), "Bashful Romeo" (1949), and "High and Dizzy" (1950). She appeared in small roles in the films "The Girl from Jones Beach" (1949), "Strange Bargain" (1949), "A Dangerous Profession" (1949), "Storm Over Wyoming" (1950), and "Gambling House" (1950). She also appeared on television in the "Burlesque" episode of "The Prudential Family Playhouse' in 1951. She married aeronautical pioneer Lester Deutsch in 1953, and they had three daughters together. Her daughter Victoria predeceased her in 2017, and she is survived by Alexis and Gina.
LEWIS VAN BERGEN, 80 - April 6, 2018
Actor Lewis Van Bergen died on April 6, 2018. Van Bergen was born in New York City on November 9, 1938. He embarked on a career as an actor in the mid-1970s and was seen in such films as "The Passover Plot" (1976), "Run For The Roses" (1977), "Stir Crazy" (1980), "Hard Country" (1981), "Fighting Back" (1982), "Savage Dawn" (1985), "Space Rage" (1985), "Rage of Honor" (1987), "Moon in Scorpio" (1987), "The Overthrow" (1987), "South of Reno" (1988), "Bugsy" (1991), "Street Knight" (1993), "Caroline At Midnight" (1994), "Pinocchio's Revenge" (1996), and "The Relic" (1997). He was seen on television in episodes of "Most Wanted", "The Next Step Beyond", "Baretta", "Richie Brockelman, Private Eye", "Detective School", "The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo", "Shannon", "CHiPs", "The Dukes of Hazzard", "Lottery!", "The Fall Guy", "Cagney & Lacey", "MacGyver", "Airwolf", "Outlaws", the short-lived action series "Sable" as Jon Sable from 1987 to 1988, "The Equalizer", "Father Dowling Mysteries", "Hunter", "ABC Afterschool Specials", "Renegade", "Diagnosis Murder", "Murder, She Wrote", "Walker, Texas Ranger", and "Vengeance Unlimited". His other television credits include the tele-films "Overboard" (1978), "Modesty Blaise" (1982) as Willie Garvin, "The Fantastic World of D.C. Collins" (1984), "False Arrest" (1991), "Double Deception" (1993), and "Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan" (1995). Van Bergen largely retired from acting by the late 1990s.
CHARLES WELDON, 78 - December 7, 2018
Actor Charles Weldon, who was artistic director of the Negro Ensemble Company, died in New York City on December 7, 2018. Weldon was born in Wetumka, Oklahoma, on June 1, 1940. He became lead singer of the doo-wop group The Paradons while in his teens. He co-wrote the hit record "Diamonds and Pearls in 1960, and performed with the band on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand". He joined the soul group Blues for Sale in the early 1960s. He began his acting career later in the decade, and appeared with Muhammad Ali in the musical "Buck White" in 1979. He joined the Negro Ensemble Company in 1970, and appeared in the 1973 Broadway production of "The River Niger". He reprised the role of Skeeter in the 1976 film version. He performed in the original San Francisco production of "Hair", and directed and acted in regional theaters throughout the country. He was featured in occasional films during his career including "Who's Minding the Mint?" (1967), "Trick Baby" (1972), "Rooster Cogburn" (1975), "Stir Crazy" (1980), "Fast-Walking" (1982), "Malcolm X" (1992), "Drop Squad" (1994), "The Wishing Tree" (1999), and "Diane" (2018). He appeared on television in episodes of "Police Story", "The Streets of San Francisco", "Kojak", "Dynasty", "Sanford and Son", "The Rockford Files", "Hill Street Blues", "Gimme a Break!" (1984), "St. Elsewhere", "L.A. Law", "Simon & Simon", "New York Undercover", "Law & Order", and "Law & Order: Trial by Jury". His other television credits include the productions of "Kiss Me, Kill Me" (1976), "A Woman Called Moses" (1978), "Roots: The Next Generation" (1979), "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf" (1982) for "American Playhouse", "Another Woman's Child" (1983), "The Atlanta Child Murders" (1985), "Case Closed" (1988), and "The Women of Brewster Place" (1989). Weldon served as artistic director of the Negro Ensemble Company from 2005 until his death. He was married and divorced from Barbara Sotello, with whom he had three children. He married actress Debbi Morgan in 1980, and they divorced in 1984.
TOM WILLIAMS, 89 - December 28, 2018
Actor Tom Williams died in Woodland Hills, California, on December 28, 2018. Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 15, 1929. He began his career on stage performing in musicals around the country. He began working in television in the 1960s and served as an assistant producer for episodes of "Dragnet" and "Adam-12" for Jack Webb's production company. He appeared on television in episodes of "F Troop", "Adam-12", "Barbary Coast", "Isis", "The Blue Knight", "The Rockford Files", "Code R", "Police Story", "C.H.i.P.s.", "Chico and The Man", "Flying High", "Vega$", "Emergency!", "Operation Petticoat", "Quincy", "Nobody's Perfect" as Detective Grauer in 1980, "ABC Weekend Specials", "The Waltons", "Too Close For Comfort", "The Jeffersons", "Alice", "Falcon Crest", "Dallas", "Knight Rider", "Punky Brewster", "Life With Lucy", "Our House", and "Charles In Charge". He was a voice actor, providing the voice of Bill Hudson for the 1975 animated series "Return To The Planet of The Apes". He also provided voices for the animated series "Superman" and "Batman: The Animated Series". He was a voice performer for numerous life action series, frequently providing the coos and cries of babies. He was heard in "Alice", "Mama's Family", "Night Court", "thirtysomething", "Sister Kate", "Murphy Brown", "Newhart", "My Two Dads", "Babes", "Saved By The Bell", "The Fanelli Boys", "Mr. Belvedere", "Seinfeld", "The Torkelsons", "Major Dad", "The Fresh of Bel-Air", "Saved By The Bell: The New Class", "Bless This House", "The Single Guy", "The Wayans Bros.", "Quack Pack", "The Steve Harvey Show", "Everybody Loves Raymond", "Coach", "USA High", "Malcolm & Eddie", "Holding The Baby", "Caroline In The City", "The Nanny", "Hang Time", "Malibu, CA", "Yes, Dear", and "Eve". He appeared in the tele-films "Rich Man, Poor Man - Book II" (1977), "The Rebels" (1979), "The Fighter" (1983), "When The Bough Breaks" (1986), and "Rough Riders" (1997). He was also seen in the films "Alien from L.A." (1988), "Streets" (1990), the animated "Rover Dangerfield" (1991), and "Prehysteria!" (1993). Williams retired from acting in the early 2000s.
Thanks to Carla Clark, Tom Weaver, Ray Nielsen, Boyd Magers, John Beifuss, Jimmy Covington, Laura Wagner, Joe Caviolo, Tom Betts, James Robert Parish