Classic Film : In Memoriam - Film Obituaries 2017

Liz Smith - actress

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/26/the-royle-family-actress-liz-smith-has-died-aged-95-a-spokeswoman-for-her

The Royle Family star Liz Smith has died at the age of 95, a spokeswoman for her family said.

The actor, best known for her role as “Nana” Norma Speakman in the hit BBC comedy, died on Christmas Eve.

The Lincolnshire-born mother-of-two, real name Betty Gleadle, starred in the sitcom for its three series from 1998 to 2000 and again in the 2006 special The Queen of Sheba, which told the story of her character's death.

Some of her other famous roles included as dopey Letitia Cropley in village comedy The Vicar of Dibley, fronted by Dawn French, as Annie Brandon in I Didn't Know You Cared, as Bette and Aunt Bell in 2point4 Children, and as Zillah in Lark Rise to Candleford.


She appeared alongside Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in the 2005 film Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, playing the role of Grandma Georgina, and also appeared on stage in the West End playing Nell in a production of Samuel Beckett's Endgame.

Smith's death comes in the same year as her co-star Caroline Aherne, who died from lung cancer.

Smith, who was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2009, announced her retirement in July of that year.

The then 87-year-old, known for her deadpan comedic delivery, had suffered three strokes within just two days and was subsequently diagnosed with speech-impeding condition aphasia.


Born in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, Smith suffered a series of family misfortunes and heartbreaks. Her mother died in childbirth when she was two years old and her father walked out when she was seven, leaving her in the hands of her widowed grandmother.
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“He was a weak man and did as he was told, so he just disowned me,” said Smith, who in later years discovered her dad had left for another woman who insisted he neglect his previous life.

During the second world war she served in the Women's Royal Naval Service and in 1945 married sailor Jack Thomas whom she met on service in India.
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Smith, who divorced Jack in 1959 after their two children were born, broke suddenly and unexpectedly into film and TV in the early 1970s.

The then 49-year-old, who rarely gave media interviews, told how she was selling toys in Hamley's one Christmas when director Mike Leigh OBE, who went on to direct comedy dramas Life is Sweet and Career Girls as well as biopic films including Vera Drake, told her he needed a middle-aged woman to do improvisations.

The former theatre company worker and dressmaker, whose acting experience was limited to small time improvisation plays, starred in Leigh's first film, Bleak Moments, which cued up an exhaustive list of TV credits.

She featured in Last of the Summer Wine, Emmerdale, a David Copperfield miniseries, before I Didn't Know You Cared: the story of a working-class household in South Yorkshire. Her casting in 2point4 Children made her a familiar face for a generation in the 1990s.

In Richard Curtis' The Vicar of Dibley, the fictional story surrounding a boisterous and disorderly female minister in a quintessentially tiny British village, Smith featured as a character known for outrageous flower decorations and peculiar baking.

Her hapless character, often seen knitting, died at the end of the first series in 1996. Her dying wish to vicar Geraldine was that she take over from her as the village's Easter Bunny.

Liz later admitted she was hurt and bewildered when she learned her character was being killed off by a note stuck to a script that a messenger delivered to her front door.

Ten years later one of her characters again died in the Bafta-award-winning TV comedy The Royle Family, centred around a scruffy television-obsessed Manchester family.

Of the memorable Christmas episode, The Queen of Sheba, Smith said: “I felt it was an ending of a whole thing. It was not just one lift, it was the whole concert of the story. They each say goodbye in a way that it's almost, ‘Goodbye, it's being lovely knowing you'.”

The episode was rerun this year on 22 December as a tribute to Caroline Aherne.

A statement from Smith's spokeswoman on Monday night said: “The Bafta award-winning actress Liz Smith has died, on Christmas Eve, at the age of 95, her family has announced.”

Re: Liz Smith - actress

Had the pleasure of meeting her on several occasions and she were always bloomin' fun she was. RIP, lass. A fine innings. Loved The Woyle Famiuly in particular. Nana and Caroline Ahern both gorn in 2016.

God Save the King

George S. Irving, actor

Actor George S. Irving, a Tony winner in 1973 for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in Irene opposite Debbie Reynolds, died December 26.

Born George Irving Shelasky November 1, 1922, in Springfield, Massachusetts, he grew up singing at neighborhood synagogues and churches. In 1942 he was cast in the chorus at the MUNY in St. Louis, and made his Broadway debut in 1943 in Oklahoma!. With 32 Broadway credits, Irving performed in such classics as Gentleman Prefer Blondes, Can-Can, Bells Are Ringing, the 1981 revival of The Pirates of Penzance, and Me and My Girl, for which he earned a Tony nomination. He was last seen on a Broadway stage for the one-night-only benefit performance A Wonderful Life for The Actors' Fund.
George S. Irving, Carmen-Alvarey and Janie-Sell in <i>Irene</i> George S. Irving, Carmen-Alvarey and Janie-Sell in Irene

Irving performed his solo show at Feinstein's in New York City in 2008 to raves, and later that year received the 17th Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre. Playbill spoke to him just last year about his star turn in Project Shaw's A Chekhov and Shaw Comedy Night.

The actor also worked in television, most known as a recurring guest star on All in the Family, playing Russ DeKuyper. He also appeared on the 1976 sitcom The Dumplings and did commercials for White Owl cigars. Irving was a noted voice actor, having provided the sound for Heat Miser in the animated holiday special The Year Without a Santa Claus and also as Mister Gepetto in Pinocchio's Christmas.

His voice is easily recognizable in some familiar Broadway cast recordings:

“I‘m a-Tingle, I'm a-Glow” from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

The announcer in the title song of Bells Are Ringing

“They Go Wild, Simply Wild, Over Me” fron Irene.

“Virtue, Arrivederci” from Bravo Giovanni

Irving was married to actor Maria Karnilova until her death in 2001. He is survived by their two children and three grandchildren.


http://www.playbill.com/article/american-actor-george-s-irving-dies

It ain't easy being green, or anything else, other than to be me

Re: George S. Irving, actor

The Heat Miser. One of my all time favorite Rankin-Bass characters!

RIP George S. Irving

Cecil Howard, director

One of the most prestigious and award-winning directors from the Golden Age of Adult cinema, Cecil Howard (1932-2016), passed away last 16th. Howard was particularly productive during the early 80s, when he directed a handful of essential titles which he produced and distributed through his own company, such as 'Neon Nights', 'Firestorm", 'Foxtrot', 'Snake Eyes', 'Star Angel', or my personal favorite, 'Scoundrels' (1982), a stunning piece of erotic cinema.

AVN has an informative obituary on his career and film legacy:

https://avn.com/business/articles/video/legendary-adult-director-cecil-howard-passes-705315.html


R.I.P.

Carrie Fisher, actress

Re: Carrie Fisher, actress

Condolences to Debbie Reynolds. It's a hard thing to lose a child.


Don't blame me, I voted for Hillary.

Re: Carrie Fisher, actress

https://www.facebook.com/HamillHimself/posts/1707089869620139

It's never easy to lose such a vital, irreplaceable member of the family, but this is downright heartbreaking. Carrie was one-of-a-kind who belonged to us all- whether she liked it or not. She was OUR Princess, damn it, & the actress who played her blurred into one gorgeous, fiercely independent & ferociously funny, take-charge woman who took our collective breath away. Determined & tough, but with a vulnerability that made you root for her & want her to succeed & be happy. She played such a crucial role in my professional & personal life, & both would have been far emptier without her. I am grateful for the laughter, the wisdom, the kindness & even the bratty, self-indulgent crap my beloved space-twin gave me through the years. Thanks Carrie. I love you, mh


Richard Adams, 96 Author

Watership Down author Richard Adams died at age 96 on December 24, 2016.

🎭All the world is a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.

Richard Adams - author

Richard Adams, 96, has gone to join El-ahrairah's Owsla.

Three of his novels were made into feature films: Watership Down, The Plague Dogs, and The Girl In A Swing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/arts/richard-adams-author-of-watership-down-dies-at-96.html?_r=0

mf

Trust me. I'm The Doctor.

Re: Richard Adams - author

I always like Adams novel "Traveller" the Civil War as seen through the eyes of Robert E Lee's famous Horse.

Claude Gensac - actress

The great comedienne Claude Gensac has died at the age of 89. Gensac worked with giants of French comedy like Sacha Guitry, Jean Girault, Edouard Molinaro and Claude Zidi during her sparkling career and made many films with comedian Louis De Funes.


Claude Gensac R.I.P.

Ricky Harris - actor

Stand-up comedian Ricky Harris has died aged 54. Harris chiselled out a nice career as a character player and directed a couple of videos for Snoop Doggy Dogg.


Ricky Harris R.I.P.

Eliseo Subiela - director

I'm certainly not equipped to write an obituary for this formidable filmmaker as I've never seen any of his films and I know practically nothing about the man himself. But I sincerely do hope to see some of his movies some day ... and what I do know is that he was considered a major figure in Argentinian cinema which should be celebrated alot more, of that I have absolutely no doubt. May he rest in peace.


Eliseo Subiela R.I.P.

Re: Eliseo Subiela - director

I saw Man Facing Southeast in 1989 and found it difficult but quite interesting. An art house Cuckoo's Nest, but more than that of course. I was on a cross-country trip (my one time in Dallas!) and a little lacking in the energy/attention it required. I looked for it recently at a college library, but they didn't have it - though I think they have another film by him. Will look for it in the new year.

Sad loss, on Xmas, 2 days shy of his birthday.

:-(

Re: Eliseo Subiela - director

'Man Facing Southeast' sounds interesting. Thanks for the information.

Re: Eliseo Subiela and his 72 angels

You may find an obituary in Spanish above (page 1). If you don't read Spanish, you may always use Google Translator or a similar one: better a poor translation than nothing at all!

Yes, on Christmas Day, two days before his birthday, but in summer, since he was born and passed away in the Southern Hemisphere!

PS. There is an ancient esoteric tradition according to which there's a guardian angel for each one of the first 72 years of a person's life. He died in his 72nd year, just two days before he finished it. But the 72th angel still was with him...

This was his fifth film No te mueras sin decirme adónde vas (1995)

Then there is his first name, Eliseo, the Spanish equivalent of

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/elysium

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisha


🔺


Sandra Giles - actress

Actress Sandra Giles has died aged 84.


Sandra Giles R.I.P.

Re: Sandra Giles - actress

Sad news. Sandra was a certified babe.
http://tinyurl.com/jhfvy8c
MST3K fans will remember her fondly for her appearance in Daddy-O.


🇺🇸 Liberty • E Pluribus Unum • In God We Trust 🇺🇸

Michel Deon - screenwriter

Michel Deon has died at the age of 97. Deon is regarded as one of the great French writers of the 20th century. In the cinema, he worked with filmmaker Yves Boisset on the screenplay for 'The Purple Taxi' (1977) which is an adaptation of one of his novels.


Michel Deon R.I.P.

Elvio Porta - screenwriter

Elvio Porta has died at the age of 71. Porta was a prominent figure in Italian theatre, a successful playwright and director. He was hired as a screenwriter by Sergio Corbucci and Nanni Loy at the start of his career in cinema and he continued to work in film and television from then on.


Elvio Porta R.I.P.

Barbara Tarbuck - actress

Barbara Tarbuck has died at the age of 74. Tarbuck was born and raised in Michigan where she developed a lifelong passion for the theatre. She appeared on a number of high profile television shows and also took interesting parts in movies. Tarbuck said one of her great joys in life was working as an acting teacher.


Barbara Tarbuck R.I.P.

Annelise Hovmand - director

Filmmaker Annelise Hovmand has died at the age of 92. Hovmand was a major figure within the Danish film industry, working in various capacities and fulfilling a number of roles. Her comedy 'Gunpowder And Tassels' (1958) is a cherished classic in Denmark.


Annelise Hovmand R.I.P.

Sibylle Boden-Gerstner - costume designer

It's been reported that costume designer Sibylle Boden-Gerstner died aged 96 on December 25th. As a freelance costume designer, she worked on some important German productions, including 'Wolf Among Wolves' (produced in the 1960s) which was the first East German television series to be aired in West Germany.


Sibylle Boden-Gerstner R.I.P.

Pierre Barouh - composer

French composer Pierre Barouh has died at the age of 82. Barouh's songs have been performed and recorded by singers like Francoise Hardy and Yves Montand. He acted in a number of films, first for his friend Georges Lautner, then for his friend Claude Lelouch. He recorded duets with jazz chanteuse (and actress) Nicole Croisille, then later appeared on the 'Musicolor' variety show with Charles Aznavour, France Gall and Giorgio Moroder. Barouh also appeared in the movie 'Where Are You From, Johnny?' (1963) with Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan. He was a rare talent known for being very much his own man.


Pierre Barouh Rest in Peace

David Berry - screenwriter

It's been reported that playwright David Berry died aged 73 on December 16th. He adapted his own play for Lindsay Anderson's film 'The Whales Of August' (1987) which gathered together Lilian Gish (her final role), Bette Davis (her penultimate role), Ann Sothern (her final role), Vincent Price and Harry Carey Jr.


David Berry R.I.P.

Re: Debbie Reynolds 1932-2016

One day after the death of her daughter, Carrie Fisher. Unbelievable and terrible news.

May they both rest in peace.

Re: Debbie Reynolds 1932-2016

What a tragedy for that family. I just watched Susan Slept Here a few days ago and was thinking what a vibrant spirit Debbie was, all the way through...today, I guess. RIP


Be true, Unbeliever.

Re: Debbie Reynolds 1932-2016

Enough, enough, enough! God knows that both Todd Fisher and Billie Lourd are shouldering a ton of bricks right now. 😢

Re: Debbie Reynolds 1932-2016

I know what you mean. Geez! Horrible news.

R.I.P, both Debbie and Carrie.

~~~~~
Jim Hutton (1934-79) & Ellery Queen =

Maurice Failevic R.I.P.

Filmmaker Maurice Failevic has died aged 83. Tributes are being paid across the political and artistic spectrums.


Maurice Failevic R.I.P.

Tricia McCauley - actress

Actress Tricia McCauley has died aged 46.


Tricia McCauley R.I.P.

Jinpachi Nezu - actor

Jinpachi Nezu has died at the age of 69 following a long period of illness. Nezu earned a formidable reputation in Japan for his aggressive work on stage but his talent was also coveted by filmmakers. He worked with Akira Kurosawa, Toshio Masuda and Hideo Gosha in the 1980s. In the 1990s, Nezu developed a strong working relationship with controversial director Takashi Ishii, the two men scoring a mainstream hit with 'The Five' (1995) co-starring Beat Takeshi. Nezu had a wild career which lasted up until the time of his death; his final film was Ishii's third picture in the 'Gonin' saga and Nezu's second (the middle entry starred Ken Ogata).


Jinpachi Nezu R.I.P.

Anne Graves - actress

Anne Graves has died at the age of 76. Graves was born in Michigan where she was selected as a child mascot by Detroit's Pressel Sausage Company. Her family moved to California while she was still a child and Graves later became a model and beauty pageant winner (she was crowned Miss Culver City). After appearing on television, Graves moved into big screen acting with her role as Princess Laura in Bert Gordon's classic fantasy 'The Magic Sword' (1962), imprisoned alongside Princess Helene (Anne Helm) and Princess Grace (Marlene Callahan).


Anne Graves Rest in Peace

Re: Anne Graves - actress

RIP.

That makes two MST3K films with cast members passing within one week. Anne Graves was adorable in The Magic Sword¹. I wouldn`t mind sharing a cell with her and Miss Helm.

Memento mori.

¹http://tinyurl.com/zaz8zuy


🇺🇸 Liberty • E Pluribus Unum • In God We Trust 🇺🇸

Laurie Carlos - actress

Laurie Carlos has died at the age of 67. Carlos was born into a musical family in New York City. She became a prominent player on New York's avant-garde scene, later moving to Minnesota where she'd become an important member of the theatrical community. Carlos won the Obie Award for her performance in the original stage production of Ntozake Shange's 'For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When The Rainbow Is Enuf', later produced for the 'American Playhouse' series. She was an actress, director, dancer, choreographer, performance artist. She was a playwright and a political activist. She was also a mentor to many in Minnesota's arts community.


Laurie Carlos Rest in Peace

Tyrus Wong - artist

"On behalf of the Art Directors Guild, I am very saddened to share news of the loss of our highly talented friend, Tyrus Wong. His work and life inspired so many of us with his passion, originality, and creativity. Deepest condolences are extended to his family and many friends at this time."

- Nelson Coates



Tyrus Wong R.I.P.

Re: Tyrus Wong - artist – age 106!

Oh, petrolino, you should have mentioned that Mr. Wong (apologies to Boris Karloff) passed away at the remarkable age of 106...and...

...that that made him the second person connected with the film industry who died this year at that amazing age -- after the late Lupita Tovar.

I'm sure such a thing, at such an age, has never happened before in the profession...or maybe any profession.

Tyrus Wong: October 25, 1910 - December 30, 2016.

William Christopher, 84 - Actor

Father Mulcahy of TV's M*A*S*H has died at the age of 84.

The year just had to take one more...

🎭All the world is a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.

Re: William Christopher, 84 - Actor

I liked him on 'M*A*S*H*'.


William Christopher R.I.P.

Re: William Christopher, 84 - Actor

You said it, Linda -- this lousy 2016 just had to take one more on its way out.

R.I.P., William Christopher.

Re: William Christopher, 84 - Actor

R.I.P William. All sympathies to his family and friends.

Father Mulcahy is one of my favourite M*A*S*H characters.



Go to bed Frank or this is going to get ugly .

Associated British Cinemas

The last of the ABC cinemas - which once were one of the two biggest chains in the UK - finally closed its doors.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-38500616


"Security - release the badgers."

Om Puri - actor.

It was sad to wake up this morning and find that actor Om Puri has died at the age of 66. He appeared in over 300 films and TV shows, starring in acclaimed movies such as EAST IS EAST, MY SON THE FANATIC and THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY. I have enjoyed his work for many years, but I will always remember hauling my aging mother along to see THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY with me. She was fascinated by his giant red nose and kept commenting loudly on it for the first few minutes of the movie. Then she shut-up, and I realized that, like Helen Mirren's initially uptight and haughty Madame Mallory, she was slowly falling in love with (his formidable, unique screen persona and) the wonderful character he played in the film.

Om Puri always seemed so full-life on screeen and it is very sad he has become part of the universe at such an early age.

Rest in peace dude, I really enjoyed watching your work and the heart and soul you brought to the characters you played.

http://variety.com/2017/film/asia/india-om-puri-dead-1201953826/


Francine York, actress

Francine York, best known for her cult film THE DOLL SQUAD and as Lydia Limpet, the Bookworm's Moll (played by Roddy McDowell) in the "Batman" T.V. series, has died at the age of 80.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/francine-york-dead-batman-doll-squad-actress-was-80-961611

Francine had been in many movies and T.V. shows in the 1960s & 70s, and was on the verge of finishing her autobiography when she passed away.

Actually, I had been following Francine on Facebook, and she was quite active, right up to yesterday, when she wrote that she was suffering from a very high temperature and that she might have to go to the hospital. It looks like she died of cancer, something that was unknown to all of her Facebook friends.

Re: Francine York, actress

I'm thankful for the movies she made - especially John Peyser's awesome drive-in classic 'The Centerfold Girls' (1974).


Francine York R.I.P.

George Kosana - actor

Pennsylvanian actor George Kosana has died aged 81. He appeared in two movies directed by horror maestro George Romero.


George Kosana R.I.P.

Buddy Greco, Jazz Pianist, Vocalist and Las Vegas Mainstay, Dies at 90

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/buddy-greco-dead-pianist-vocalist-las-vegas-headliner-was-90-963312

A friend of summed him up this way:

"The last man standing of his generation of greaseball swinging jazz lounge singers. He sounded like Sinatra's delinquent kid brother on speed."

I told you a million times not to talk to me when I'm doing my lashes!

Nat Hentoff 1925-2017 noted jazz critic

Source, New York Times, January 7, 2017

Nathan Irving Hentoff was born in Boston on June 10, 1925, the son of Simon and Lena Katzenberg Hentoff. His parents were Jewish immigrants.

He attended Boston Latin, the oldest public school in America, and read voraciously. He discovered Artie Shaw and fell passionately for Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller and other jazz legends. As more modern styles of jazz emerged, Mr. Hentoff also embraced musicians like Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus and, later, Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor.

At Northeastern University, he became editor of a student newspaper and turned it into a muckraker. When it dug up a story about trustees backing anti-Semitic publications, the university shut it down. Mr. Hentoff and members of his staff resigned, but he graduated in 1946 with high honors and a lasting devotion to the First Amendment.

After several years with a Boston radio station, he moved to New York in 1953 and covered jazz for Down Beat until 1957.

He was one of the most prolific jazz writers of the 1950s and '60s, providing liner notes for countless albums as well as writing or editing several books on jazz, including Hear Me Talkin' to Ya: The Story of Jazz as Told by the Men Who Made It (1955), which he edited with Nat Shapiro. It was a seminal work of oral history.

In 1958, he was a founding editor of The Jazz Review, an influential publication that lasted until 1961. In 1960, he began a notable, if brief, career as a record producer, supervising sessions by Mingus, Max Roach and others for the Candid label.

Around the same time, he began a freelance career that took him into the pages of Esquire, Harper's, Commonweal, The Reporter, Playboy and The New York Herald Tribune.


🇺🇸 Liberty • E Pluribus Unum • In God We Trust 🇺🇸

Re: Nat Hentoff 1925-2017 noted jazz critic

RIP, Boston Boy. Nat Hentoff's liner notes, whether for jazz or comedy albums, are among the best I've ever read. He was a wonder.
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