Saturday, April 24, 2010

SEPTEMBER 2000 FILM WORLD OBITUARIES

KEITH SHARTLE Died Sep. 1, 2000


Visual effects producer Keith Shartle died of lung cancer at age 48. Mr. Shartle worked for Dream Quest Images for 16 years. He was the VP of the animation company Will Vinton Studios at the time of his death. Mr. Shartle was the visual effects producer on such films as "The Abyss," "Total Recall," "Armageddon," "Con Air"


ROBERT C. MORENO Died Sep. 1, 2000


Cinematographer Robert C. Moreno died at age 87. Mr. Moreno worked primarily on TV though he did lens the Burt Reynolds features "Skullduggery" and "Sam Whisky." His many TV credits include "12 O'clock High," "The F.B.I.," "Hogan's Heroes," "Police Woman" and "Murder She Wrote."


OLAVI AHONEN Died Sep. 1, 2006


Finnish actor Olavi Ahonen died at age 77. Ms. Ahonen appeared in over 50 films and TV shows during his lengthy career. His credits include "The Boys," "Pretty Good for a Human" and "Goodbye, Mr. President."



CURT SIODMAK Died Sep. 2, 2000


Writer Curt Siodmak died of natural causes at age 98. Horror movie fans have loved Mr. Siodmak's work for generations. He was one of the top writers of Universal horror films. He created the "Wolf Man" character and films series. "The Wolf Man" made a star out of actor Lon Chaney Jr. Mr. Siodmak's many credits include "The Wolf Man," "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man," "Son of Dracula," "I Walked With a Zombie," "Black Friday," "The Invisible Man Returns," "House of Frankenstein," "Bride of the Gorilla," "The Magnetic Monster," "The Beast With Five Fingers," "Creature With the Atomic Brain," Ray Harryhausen's "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers" and "Doom of Dracula." Mr. Siodmak directed a few films including "Curucu, Beast of the Amazon" and "Love Slaves of the Amazon." Mr. Siodmak began his film career in his native Germany. He fled the country when Hitler rose to power.



JEAN SPEEGLE HOWARD Died Sep. 2, 2000


Actress and film family matriarch Jean Speegle Howard died of heart and respiratory illness at age 73. Ms. Howard was the wife of actor Rance Howard and the mother of actors Ron and Clint Howard. She was the grandmother of actress Bryce Dallas Howard. Ms. Howard appeared in over 50 films and TV shows during her career. Her credits include "Scrooged," "Apollo 13" and "Cocoon."



EDWARD ANHALT Died Sep. 3, 2000


Oscar-winning screenwriter Edward Anhalt died of cancer at age 86. Mr. Anhalt was nominated for three Oscars. He won twice of "Becket" and "Panic in the Streets." His third nomination was for "The Sniper." Mr. Anhalt co-wrote "Panic in the Streets" and "The Sniper" with his late wife Edna. Mr. Anhalt's many credits include "The Boston Strangler," the TV miniseries "QBVII" (Emmy nomination), "The Man in the Glass Booth" (WGA nomination), "Girls! Girls! Girls!," "The Satan Bug," "Jeremiah Johnson," the excellent Frank Sinatra TV movie "Contract on Cherry Street," "Hour of the Gun" and "Boeing, Boeing." Mr. Anhalt was an occasional actor. He had a recurring role as the Bald Man on the prime-time soap opera "Falcon Crest."



WALT STANCHFIELD Died Sep. 3, 2000


Veteran Disney animator Walt Stanchfield died at age 81. Mr. Stanchfield worked on every Disney feature length cartoon between 1949's "The Adventures of Ichabod Crane and Mr. Toad" through the 1986 film "The Great Mouse Detective."



MUKRI Died Sep. 4, 2000


Indian actor and comedian Mukri died of cardiac arrest following kidney failure at age 78. Mukri appeared in more than 600 films during his career!


JACK FJELDSTAD Died Sep. 4, 2000


Norse actor Jack Fjeldstad died at age 85. He was one of that nations most respected actors. Mr. Fjeldstad starred in the 1957 film "Nine Lives." The WWII drama was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar and is considered by many to be the best film ever produced in Norway. Mr. Fjeldstad appeared in over 40 films during his career.



GIAN LUIGI POLIDORO Died Sep. 7, 2000


Award-winning Italian independent-film director Gian Luigi Polidoro died in Vicenza at age 72. Mr. Polidoro won the Golden Bear at the 1963 Berlin International Film Festival for his film "The Devil." His 1958 feature-length documentary "Power Among Men" was also nominated for a Golden Bear Award.


BILL WADDINGTON Died Sep. 9, 2000


British actor Bill Waddington died at age 84. Mr. Waddington was the father of actress Barbara Waddington. Both of them acted in the long-running British TV series "Coronation Street." Mr. Waddington was a regular on the show, playing the character Percy Sugden for 19 years! Mr. Waddington was a stand-up comedian before turning to acting in the 1960s.



MARY COLQUHOUN Died Sep. 9, 1000


Emmy-winning casting director Mary Colquhoun died of ovarian cancer at age 71. Ms. Colquhoun won two Emmy awards for casting the HBO films "Citizen Cohn" and "Truman." Among her many credits are "Hamburger Hill," "Hairspray," "Glory," "The Devil's Advocate" and "Snake Eyes."


LESTER NOVROS Died Sep. 10, 2000


Oscar-winning producer and Disney animator Lester Novros died at age 91. Mr. Novros was nominated for an Oscar for the short subject documentary "Universe." Mr. Novros worked for Disney as an animator on "Bambi," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" and "Fantasia." In 1941 he formed Graphic Films to produce educational films. The company eventually made films for NASA.



JERRY D. GOOD Died Sep. 10, 2000


Cinematographer/producer Jerry D. Good died at age 68. Mr. Good produced Frank Zappa's film "200 Motels." He also produced the X-Rated cartoon feature "Down and Dirty Duck." Mr. Good was a TV cinematographer. His TV credits include "Hardcastle and McCormick," "Mike Hammer" and "Seinfeld." Mr. Good was a camera operator on the feature films "Uncommon Valor" and "Angel Dusted."



GARY OLSEN Died Sep. 12, 2000


Australian born actor Gary Olsen died of cancer at age 42. He was best known in the UK as the star of the long-running sitcom "2 Point 4 Children." Mr. Olsen's film credits include "Outland," "24 Hours In London," "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover" and "Pink Floyd's The Wall." His first film role was as rocker Rory Storm in "The Birth of the Beatles." Ringo Starr was the drummer for Rory Storm and the Hurricanes when he was picked to replace Pete Best as the drummer for The Beatles.



JUAN IBANEZ Died Sep. 12, 2000


Mexican director Juan Ibenez died at age 62. Mr. Ibenez was considered to be one of the most important and influential theater directors in Mexico's history. He also directed a handful of films. Mr. Ibenez is remembered by horror movie fans for co-directing with Jack Hill, four of Boris Karloff's final films. Late in life, Boris Karloff was hired to act in several Mexican horror films. Mr. Karloff actually shot all of his scenes on a Hollywood soundstage during a period of several weeks. Jack Hill directed Mr. Karloff's scenes. The remainder of the scenes for these US-Mexican co-productions were directed by Mr. Ibenez in Mexico. The four films were "The Fear Chamber," "House of Evil," "Isle of the Snake People" and "The Incredible Invasion."



SHELAGH FRASIER Died Sep. 13, 2000


British actress Shelagh Frasier died at age 77. Ms. Frasier was best known for her role as Luke Skywalker's Aunt in the original "Star Wars." Ms. Frasier appeared in over 50 films and TV shows during her career. He many credits include "Z Cars" and its spin-off "Softly, Softly," the film version of "Till Death Do Us Part," "The Witches" with Joan Fontaine, "Doomwatch" and "Hope and Glory."



BEAH RICHARDS Died Sep. 14, 2000


Oscar-nominee and Emmy-winner Beah Richards died of emphysema at age 74. Ms. Richards was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Sidney Portier's mother in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner." Ms. Richards won two Emmy awards for her work on "The Practice" and "Frank's Place." She also enjoyed a very successful stage career. Ms. Richard's film credits include the original version of "The Miracle Worker," "Hurry Sundown," "In the Heat of the Night," "The Great White Hope," "The Biscuit Eater," "Mahogany," "Homer and Eddie," "Drugstore Cowboy" and "Beloved." Ms. Richards also had numerous TV credits including "Roots: The Next Generation."



ROSE LOEWINGER Died Sep. 14, 2000


Film editor Rose Lowenger died at age 98. Ms. Lowenger cut films during the late 1920s and 1930s. Her first film was the W.C. Fields/Chester Conklin comedy "Two Flaming Youths." Other credits include the now-camp anti-marijuana movie "The Assassin of Youth," Bela Lugosi's "Kiss of Death," "The Last Mile" and the Reginald Owen version of "A Study in Scarlett." I could find no information about Ms. Lowenger's life after leaving the film industry.


VINCENT CANBY Died Sep. 15, 2000


Respected film critic Vincent Canby died of cancer at age 76. Mr. Canby was the film and theater critic for the New York Times for 35 years. He worked for Variety for six years prior to that. Next to Pauline Kael, Mr. Canby was my favorite film critic to read. Sure, he wrote for the Times, but his work was accessible and down to earth. I liked his taste in movies. Like Ms. Kael, Vincent Canby would occasionally go to bat for a filmmaker he thought deserved wider recognition. He appeared as himself in the documentary "Jonas and the Ocean." Mr. Canby served his country as an officer in the US Navy during WWII.



FATHER ELLWOOD KIESER Died Sep. 16, 2000


Catholic priest Ellwood Kieser died of cancer at age 71. Father Kieser was the founder of the Paulist movement. He used the media to preach the good news of Jesus Christ. Father Kieser produced the weekly TV series "Insight." He also produced a number of feature films. His credits include "The Fourth Wise Man" starring Martin Sheen, "Romero" starring Raul Julia and the documentary "The Twelve Disciples."



RON NYMAN Died Sep. 16, 2000


British born actor Ron Nyman died in Los Angeles at age 76. Mr. Nyman had supporting roles in a number of films and TV shows. He appeared in such films as "The Egyptian," "The Ten Commandments," "The Seven Year Itch," "Donovan's Reef," "Hustle" and "Wake Me Up When the War is Over."


DORI BRENNER Died Sep. 16, 2000


Emmy-nominated actress Dori Brenner died of cancer at age 53. Ms. Brenner was nominated for an Emmy for her performance in the miniseries "Seventh Avenue." Ms. Brenner appeared in over 50 films and TV shows during her career. Her film credits include "Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams," "Next Stop, Greenwich Village," "Altered States," "Baby Boom" and "For the Boys."



HENRY WEINSTEIN Died Sep. 17, 2006


Producer Henry Weinstein died at age 76. Mr. Weinstein produced Marilyn Monroe's final and unfinished film "Something's Got to Give." The movie was famous for Ms. Monroe's nude swimming scene. The movie was reshot the next yearwith Doris Day as "Move Over Darling." Mr. Weinstein's other credits include the 1970 version of "Julius Caesar," "Butly," "52 Pick-Up" and "Texasville."


ARMAND MESTRAL Died Sep. 17, 2006


French actor and singer Armand Mestral died of cancer at age 82. Mr. Mestral enjoyed successful singing and acting careers. Prior to WWII, Mr. mistral was a cabaret as well as opera singer. He began acting after the war and appeared in over 70 films and TV shows. His many credits include "Morgan the Pirate," "The Lost Command" and Jerry Lewis's unreleased Holocaust film "The Day the Clown Cried."


PAULA YATES Died Sep. 17, 2000


Rock journalist and UK TV presenter Paula Yates died of an accidental heroin overdose at age 40. She died on her daughter's 10th birthday. Ms. Yates was the ex-wife of Bob Geldof and the girlfriend of Michael Hutchence at the time of his death. Ms. Yates was the hostess of the cutting edge TV show "The Tube." She was also a presentor on the TV show "The Big Breakfast" in which she interviewed celebrities while laying in bed with them.



ANN DORAN Died Sep. 18, 2000


How many struggling actors and actresses have just wished they could work steady. Don't have to be rich, but to be able to make a steady living at the craft they love! Lots I'd bet. I'd also bet that many of them would love to have the type of career that Ann Doran enjoyed. Talk about working steady. She started working in silent films as a child. She ended her career in the late 1980s. In between she appeared in over 500 feature films and over 1000 TV episodes! She may be best remembered for her role as James Dean's mother in "Rebel Without a Cause." Being a monster movie fan, I remember her from the movie that inspired the original "Alien," "It! The Terror From Beyond Space." She can also be spotted in the giant movie "Them!" as a child psychiatrist near the film's beginning. Ms. Doran appeared, credited and uncredited in such films as "The Carpetbaggers," "Captain Newman M.D.," "The F.B.I. Story," the original version of "The Desperate Hours," "The High and the Mighty," "Island in the Sky," "The Snake Pit," "The Babe Ruth Story," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "Meet John Doe," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "You Can't Take it With You," "Stella Dallas," "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" and the silent Douglas Fairbanks version of "Robin Hood." Actress Ann Doran died at age 89.



ANITA LHOEST Died Sep. 19, 2000


Championship swimmer, cellist, animal lover and one-time actress Anita Lhoest died of pancreatic cancer at age 69. Ms. Lhoest was the national 100 Meter swimming champion by the time she graduated high school. She got a screen test as a result. Ms. Lhoest was cast to play Daisy Mae in a film version of "Li'l Abner" that was never produced. She played the title role in the "Captive Girl" entry into the Johnny Weissmuller "Jungle Jim" film series.



GLORIA TALBOTT Died Sep. 19, 2000


Actress Gloria Talbott died of kidney failure at age 69. Ms. Talbott was a familiar face to fans of B-westerns and 1950s monster movies. She was the unfortunate bride in "I Married a Monster From Outer Space." She co-starred with James Craig in Bert I. Gordon's "The Cyclops." Then there are "The Daughter of Dr. Jekyll" and "The Leech Woman" It's funny, you can appear in nearly 100 films and TV shows during a career, and the public will remember you for just four movies. Of course, I'm speaking as a monster movie fan. Western fans have many, many more films to remember Ms. Talbott by. She appeared in just about every major TV Western during the 1950s and 60s. Other credits include "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and the Mamie Van Doren exploitation flick "Girls Town."



YASUYOSHI TOKUMA Died Sep. 20, 2000


Producer and studio exec Yasuyoshi Tokuma died at age 78. Mr. Tokuma was the president of the Tokuma Shoten Publishing Company. He bought Daisi Studio in the 1970s and began producing films. Mr. Tokuma was the executive producer of Hayao Miyazaki's classic films "Spirited Away," "Princess Mononoke," "Castle in the Sky" and "Nausica" among others. Mr. Tokuma also revived the "Gamera" film series. He produced three "Gamera" films during the 1980s with a redesigned monster turtle.



GERMAN TITOV Died Sep. 20, 2000


Cosmonaut German Titov died of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning in a home sauna. He was 65 years old. German Titov was officially the second Soviet Cosmonaut to go into space. His 17 orbit flight lasted just over one day. Mr. Titov was the youngest man to ever go into space. Mr. Titov appeared through archived footage in the TV miniseries "Cold War."



R. WRIGHT CAMPBELL Died Sep. 21, 2000


Oscar-nominated screenwriter Robert Wright Campbell died at age 73. Mr. Campbell shared an Oscar nominated for his work on the script for the Lon Chaney Sr. bipic "The Man of a Thousand Faces." Mr. Campbell other credits include the Charles Bronson gangster film "Machine Gun Kelly," "Teen Age Caveman," "The Masque of Red Death" and "Captain Nemo and the Underwater City."


BILL JOHNSON Died Sep. 22, 2000


Camera operator Bill Johnson died at age 62. Mr. Johnson often worked with cinematographer William H. Daniels. Mr. Johnson's many credits include "Diamonds are Forever," "Winchester 73," "Von Ryan's Express," "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," the original version of "Ocean's Eleven," "In Like Flint," Alfred Hitchcock's "Topaz," Sam Peckinpah's "The Killer Elite," Walter Hill's "The Driver," "Raise the Titanic" and "Hammett." Mr. Johnson received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Operating Cameramen in 1995.


ANTONY DARNBOROUGH Died Sep. 24, 2000


British film producer Antony Darnborough died at age 87. Mr. Darnborough produced several successful films after WWII. He is best know for this anthology films "Quartet," "Trio" and "Encore." Each of the films were based on short stories by W. Somerset Maugham. Each of the segments were directed by different directors. Mr. Darnborough's final film was "The Baby and the Battleship." Mr. Darnborough served his country in the Royal Artillery during WWII and was decorated for bravery above and beyond the call of duty. My thanks to Antony Darnborogh's son James for this photograph of his father with actress Bette Davis. The picture was taken at Pinewood Studios in 1951.



BADEN POWELL Died Sep. 26, 2000


Brazillian composer Baden Powell died at age 63. Mr. Powell's hit song "Samba de Bencao" was featured in the hit French film "A Man and a Woman."


RICHARD MULLIGAN Died Sep. 26, 2000


I loved Richard Mulligan's brand of comedy. The man never failed to make me laugh. Whether it was his truly scary brand of comedy playing General George Armstrong Custer in "Little Big Man" or his take as the drunken director in Blake Edwards' "S.O.B.," Richard Mulligan delivered belly laughs. The kind of laughs that make you abdomen hurt and threaten the viewer's continence. The term "side-splittingly funny" seems to have been created to describe Richard Mulligan. He was blessed with the kind of flexible face, perfect timing and talent that made him one of the greats of film and TV comedy. Emmy-winning actor Richard Mulligan died of cancer at age 67.


Richard Mulligan was nominated five times for Emmy Awards for his work on the series "Soap" and "Empty Nest." He won once for each series. He also racked up three Golden Globe nominations and one win for "Empty Nest." Richard Mulligan was the brother of "To Kill a Mockingbird" director Robert Mulligan.


Richard Mulligan appeared in nearly 70 films and TV shows during his career. His many credits include the feature films "The Chapman Report," "The Group," "The Undefeated," "The Big Bus," "The Trail of the Pink Panther," "Meatballs 2," "Micki + Maude" and voice work in "Oliver & Company."



CARL SIGMAN Died Sep. 26, 2000


Songwriter Carl Sigman died at age 91. Mr. Sigman wrote many memorable songs including "It's All in the Game" and "Ebb Tide." Mr. Sigman wrote the themes for "The Perry Como Show" and the movie "Love Story." His songs have been used on numerous soundtracks including "Smile," "The Color of Money," the remake of "Lolita," "Any Given Sunday" and "Micky Blue Eyes."



FRANK WILLS Died Sep. 27, 2000


Frank Wills played the first move in a series of events that brought down an American president. Frank Wills was the security guard at the Watergate Hotel in June of 1972. He noticed a door taped open and called the police. Five burglars were caught inside the Democratic Party's headquarters. Two years and two months later Richard Nixon became the first US president to resign his office. Frank Wills portrayed himself in the Oscar winning film "All the President's Men." He died of a brain tumor at age 52.



CARLOS REVILLA Died Sep. 28, 2000


Actor Carlos Revilla died at age 67. Mr. Revilla provided the voice of Homer Simpson for the Spanish language version of "The Simpsons."


TED GEHRING Died Sep. 28, 2000


Actor Ted Gehring died at age 71. Mr. Gehring appeared in nearly 150 films and TV shows. His feature film credits include the original version of "The Thomas Crown Affair," "Wake Me Up When the War is Over," "Viva Max!," "They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!," "Monte Walsh," "Wild Rovers," "Bad Company," "Oklahoma Crude," "The Parallax View," the Robert Mitchum version of "Farewell, My Lovely," "The Hindenburg," "Nickelodeon," "Bound For Glory," "The Domino Principle," "Gray Lady Down" and "Murphy's Romance." His many TV appearances include guest shots on "Star Trek" and "Police Story."



MYLES FERGUSON Died Sep. 29, 2000


Canadian actor Myles Ferguson was killed in a car crash at age 19. Mr. Ferguson's credits include "Air Bud 2," "Little Criminals," "Highlander: The Series," "Viper," "Poltergeist: The Legacy," "The Sentinel," "The Commish" and "The Odyssey."


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