Martin Starger, who as a senior executive at ABC in the 1970s helped bring “Happy Days,” “Roots,” “Rich Man, Poor Man” and other shows to the small screen — and the network nearly to the brink of No. 1 in prime time — before turning to producing movies, most notably Robert Altman’s “Nashville,” died on … Read more
Remo Saraceni, a sculptor, toy inventor and technological fantasist best known for creating the Walking Piano that Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia danced on in a beloved scene of the hit 1988 movie “Big,” died on June 3 in Swarthmore, Pa. He was 89. The cause was heart failure, said Benjamin Medaugh, his assistant and … Read more
Erich Anderson, an actor known for his breakout role in the “Friday the 13th” franchise and recurring appearances on television series like “Felicity” and “Thirtysomething,” died on Saturday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 67. His brother-in-law, Michael O’Malley, said the cause was esophageal cancer. In the late 1980s and ’90s, Mr. Anderson … Read more
Janis Paige, a popular actor in Hollywood and in Broadway musicals and comedies who danced with Fred Astaire, toured with Bob Hope and continued to perform into her 90s, has died. She was 101. Paige died Sunday of natural causes at her Los Angeles home, longtime friend Stuart Lampert said Monday. Paige starred on Broadway … Read more
Margot Benacerraf, a critically acclaimed Venezuelan documentary filmmaker whose hypnotic “Araya,” a visual tone poem chronicling the daily lives of salt workers on an austere peninsula on her country’s coast, shared the critics’ prize at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival, died on Wednesday in Caracas. She was 97. Her death was announced by the country’s … Read more
By then, Mr. Hickman said, he was running out of gas as a screen actor and was looking for new opportunities. He began to write scripts for TV series, including “Hawaiian Eye” and “The Loretta Young Show.” He performed onstage in summer stock, which led to his starring in “How to Succeed” for about a … Read more
The presence of Mr. Ruddy at the news conference so enraged Charles Bluhdorn, the combustible chairman of Gulf & Western, Paramount’s parent, that he fired him. But when Mr. Bluhdorn told Francis Ford Coppola, the director, and Robert Evans, the studio’s vice president of production, to find another producer, Mr. Coppola intervened. “Al Ruddy’s the … Read more
He and his brother, Robert, teamed up to write the songs for “Mary Poppins” and other Disney classics. They also gave the world “It’s a Small World (After All).” Source link #Richard #Sherman #Songwriter #Spoonfuls #Sugar #Dies
Zack Norman, who made his mark as an actor in films like “Romancing the Stone” and “Cadillac Man” and with appearances on television shows like “The A-Team” and “The Nanny” — and who, as a producer, also became known for a star-crossed movie that became a running punchline on the show “Mystery Science Theater 3000” … Read more
Fred Roos, a casting director and producer who championed the early careers of A-list actors like Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson and Carrie Fisher, and whose long collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola and his family, stretching from “The Godfather” (1972) to this year’s “Megalopolis,” earned him an Oscar and an Emmy, died on Saturday at his … Read more
Morgan Spurlock, a documentary filmmaker best known for the Oscar-nominated 2004 film “Super Size Me,” which followed him as he ate nothing but McDonald’s for 30 days, died on Thursday. He was 53. His brother Craig Spurlock confirmed the death in a statement to The Associated Press, and said the cause was complications from cancer. … Read more
Ivan F. Boesky, the brash financier who came to symbolize Wall Street greed as a central figure of the 1980s insider trading scandals, and who went to prison for his misdeeds, died on Monday. He was 87. The death was confirmed by his daughter Marianne Boesky. She did not provide further details. An inspiration for … Read more
Samm-Art Williams, who made his mark in several fields — as an executive producer of the sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” as an actor on both stage and screen and as a Tony-nominated playwright for “Home,” died on Monday in Burgaw, N.C. He was 78. His death was confirmed by his cousin Carol Brown. … Read more
The actress and stunt woman Susan Backlinie, whose portrayal of a violent death as the first shark attack victim in the opening scene of the blockbuster movie “Jaws” terrified moviegoers, died on Saturday. She was 77. Ms. Backlinie died at her home in California, her agent, Sean Clark, said on Sunday. He said she had … Read more
Roger Corman, who for decades dominated the world of B movies as the producer or director of countless proudly low-budget horror, science fiction and crime films, has died. He was 98. He died on Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, Calif., his family said in a statement posted late Saturday on his official Instagram … Read more
Bernard Hill, a British actor who incarnated a humble style of masculine leadership in three hugely successful Hollywood movies, “Titanic” and two films in the “Lord of the Rings” franchise, died on Sunday. He was 79. His death was announced in a family statement sent by a representative of Lou Coulson Associates, a British talent … Read more
Laurent Cantet, an eminent director who made penetrating films about the prickly undersides of French life and society, died on April 25 in Paris. He was 63. His screenwriter and editor, Robin Campillo, said he died of cancer in a hospital. Mr. Cantet’s best-known film was “Entre les Murs” (“The Class”), which won the Palme … Read more
Bernard Hill, an actor best known for roles in “Titanic” and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, has died at the age of 79. Hill infamously played Captain Edward Smith, who went down with his sinking ship in James Cameron’s history-making hit “Titanic,” and later took on JRR Tolkien’s literary classic when he starred as … Read more
Barbara O. Jones, an actress whose captivating work in films like “Bush Mama” and “Daughters of the Dust” helped define the cerebral, experimental and highly influential Black cinema movement that emerged in Los Angeles in the 1970s, died on April 8 at her home in Dayton, Ohio. She was 82. Her brother Marlon Minor confirmed … Read more
Lourdes Portillo, the Oscar-nominated Mexican-born documentary filmmaker whose work explored Latin American social issues through spellbinding narratives, has died. She was 80. Ms. Portillo died Saturday at her home in San Francisco. Her death was confirmed by her friend Soco Aguilar. No cause was given. One of Ms. Portillo’s best-known works is her 1994 documentary … Read more