Harve Presnell has passed away

Another day, another death. What a sad time it has been for celebrity deaths. Even Jeff Goldblum, although he got better.

Harve Presnell, whose booming baritone graced such Broadway musicals as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" and "Annie," has died at age 75.

The actor died Tuesday of pancreatic cancer at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., said Gregg Klein, Presnell's agent.

Although he was best known for his roles in musical theater, Presnell also is remembered as William H. Macy's father-in-law in the Coen brothers' 1996 film Fargo.

Among his other movies were "When the Boys Meet the Girls" (1965), "The Glory Guys" (1965) and "Paint Your Wagon" (1969) as well as the TV series "The Pretender" (1997-2000).

Yet it was in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" (1960) that the rugged, 6-foot-4 Presnell was first noticed by Broadway audiences. In the Meredith Willson musical, he played lucky mining prospector "Leadville" Johnny Brown opposite Tammy Grimes' feisty Molly. Presnell repeated his role in the 1964 film version which starred Debbie Reynolds as the buoyant title character.

Presnell even played the dashing Rhett Butler in a musical version of "Gone with the Wind" (adapted by Horton Foote and with a score by Harold Rome) that was seen in London in 1972.

For a good part of his career, Presnell portrayed the wealthy, follicle-challenged Daddy Warbucks in various incarnations of "Annie." The actor was first offered the role in a tour of "Annie" and thought the title was a show business abbreviation for "Annie, Get Your Gun," the musical in which he had once played sharpshooter Frank Butler.

Then he attended "Annie" and saw a bald, older man instead of a dashing, romantic lead.

It was a big shock, he told The Associated Press in an interview in 1993: "I thought, `What's this? I'm a leading man!'"

But the reality was good for him, Presnell said, adding: "It was a question of saying, `I'm no longer Frank Butler or Rhett Butler or 'Leadville' Johnny Brown. And they were paying good money."

After Presnell did the two-year "Annie" tour (1979-81) he went into "Annie" on Broadway and was still Daddy Warbucks on closing night, Jan. 2, 1983, in New York. In 1990, he played Warbucks in "Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge," the ill-fated sequel to "Annie" that folded during its Washington tryout and never got to New York.

Another version, titled "Annie Warbucks," surfaced off-Broadway in 1993 for a four-month run with Presnell again portraying Annie's wealthy benefactor.

The actor was born George Harvey Presnell on Sept. 14, 1933, in Modesto, Calif. He went to the University of Southern California on a sports scholarship. After three weeks, the head of the music school heard him sing and offered him the same scholarship for music. He soon quit school and spent three seasons singing in Europe. And it was in Berlin that Willson, the composer of "Molly Brown," first heard him sing.

Source: Yahoo

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Karl Malden has passed away

Karl Malden, the Academy Award-winning actor whose intelligent characterizations on stage and screen made him a star despite his plain looks, died Wednesday, his family said. He was 97.

Malden died of natural causes surrounded by his family at his Brentwood home, they told the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. He served as the academy’s president from 1989-92.

The Streets of San Francisco star was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1912 and raised in Gary, Indiana - coincidentally the birthplace of Michael Jackson, who died last week.

A former steelworker and teacher, Malden studied acting at the Goodman Theater Dramatic School in Chicago and chose to take his talents to New York, where he became involved with the fabled Group Theater.

He made his stage debut in 1937 and struck up a theatrical partnership with legendary director Elia Kazan, who cast Malden in a host of successful Broadway shows.

After serving in World War Two, the actor landed his big movie break in 1940's They Knew What They Wanted and he quickly became an in-demand film star, winning an Oscar for his performance as Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire in 1951.

He also landed roles in classics like On the Waterfront and Baby Doll.

Malden became a household name in America when he teamed up with Michael Douglas in TV cop drama The Streets of San Francisco in the early 1970s.

He also became the pitchman for American Express - a position he held for 21 years.

In 1988, he was elected President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - a title he held for five years.

Malden's memoir is called When Do I Start?: A Memoir.

As well as his Best Supporting Actor Oscar win in 1951, the actor also claimed an Outstanding Supporting Actor Emmy in 1985 for the TV series Fatal Vision.

Malden was honoured with Life Achievement Awards at the Temecula Valley International Film Festival in 1998 and the Screen Actors Guild Awards of 2004.

His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame can be found at 6231 Hollywood Boulevard.

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Michael Jackson has passed away

Michael Jackson has died after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest.

His brother Jermaine Jackson said he believed the 50-year-old singer fell ill at his Holmby Hills home in Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon.

He was taken to the UCLA medical centre where he was pronounced dead at 2.26pm Pacific time (10.26pm BST).

The self-styled king of pop had been due to perform 50 farewell concerts in London this summer, bowing out on an illustrious music career spanning several decades while aiming to resurrect his fortunes.

Jackson's brother told reporters: "My brother, the legendary King of pop, passed away on Thursday June 25 at 2.26pm.

"We believe he suffered a cardiac arrest at his home, however the cause of his death is unknown until the results of the autopsy are known. The personal physician who was with him at the time attempted to resuscitated him."

A spokesman for the Ronald Reagan UCLA medical centre added: "When he arrived at hospital at approximately 1.14pm a team of doctors including emergency physicians and cardiologists attempted to resuscitate him for a period of more than one hour, they were unsuccessful."

TV footage showed a rescue helicopter flying the star's body to a waiting ambulance.
A Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said the robbery and homicide team was investigating Jackson's death because of its "high profile" but warned reporters not to read anything into his team's involvement. A post mortem examination is expected to take place, Los Angeles Coroner's Office spokesman Fred Corral said.

As tributes flooded in, close friend Uri Geller told the Press Association that it may have been the "stress" of Jackson's London comeback that killed him.

Jackson is survived by three children - Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince "Blanket" Michael Jackson II.

Source: MSN

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Farrah Fawcett has passed away

Actress Farrah Fawcett, best known for her role in television series Charlie's Angels, has died after a long battle with cancer, her long-time companion Ryan O'Neal says. She was 62.

Fawcett died in hospital surrounded by friends and family shortly before 9.30am on Thursday (0230 AEST on Friday), reports said.

"After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away," O'Neal said in a statement released by Fawcett's publicist Arnold Robinson.

"Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world."

O'Neal told People magazine's online edition he had talked to Fawcett through the night.

"She's now with her mother and sister and her God. I loved her with all my heart. I will miss her so very, very much. She was in and out of consciousness. I talked to her all through the night.

"I told her how very much I loved her. She's in a better place now."

Speculation that Fawcett's death was close at hand had mounted after veteran ABC television interviewer Barbara Walters said the actress had been given her last rites earlier on Thursday.

Reports said O'Neal and Alana Stewart were at Fawcett's bedside when she passed away at St John's Hospital in Santa Monica.

Earlier this week, O'Neal revealed he planned to marry Fawcett, who has been battling cancer for three years. "I've asked her to marry me, again, and she's agreed," O'Neal said.

O'Neal, 68, and Fawcett had been romantically involved off-and-on since 1982. The couple had a son together, Redmond, but never married.

Redmond O'Neal is in jail in California for drug offences and was not at his mother's bedside when she died but spoke to her on the phone before her death, his father told People.

Fawcett's son told her "how much he loved her and asked her to please forgive him that he was so very, very sorry," Ryan O'Neal was quoted as saying.

Fawcett emerged as a pop-culture icon in the 1970s and 1980s after her role in Charlie's Angels and appearance in a famous poster wearing a red swimsuit that would come to be her defining image.

During the 1970s, Fawcett was married to Six Million Dollar Man star Lee Majors, from whom she separated in 1979. In 1982 she began a long romance with actor O'Neal and the couple had Redmond in 1985.

After splitting from O'Neal in the 1990s, Fawcett faded from view, although she appeared in Robert Altman's 2000 comedy, Dr T and the Women, in an ensemble cast that included Richard Gere, Helen Hunt, Laura Dern and Kate Hudson.

In recent years, Fawcett's health was the subject of intense scrutiny by a voracious tabloid media.

News of her cancer fight broke in October 2006, sparking an outpouring of support from fans and well-wishers.

In 2007 she declared that months of gruelling chemotherapy had seen her beat the cancer despite "excruciating pain and uncertainty".

"It never occurred to me to stop fighting - not ever," she said.

However, in April this year it emerged that the cancer had returned and the actress was gravely ill.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times published in May, Fawcett criticised the media frenzy over her health, saying she would have preferred to have kept details of her illness private.

"It's much easier to go through something and deal with it without being under a microscope," Fawcett said.

"I'm a private person," she continued. "It would be good if I could just go and heal and then when I decided to go out, it would be OK."

Source: Livenews

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David Eddings has passed away

One of my favourite authours growing up was David Eddings. He wrote The Belgariad and the Mallorean fantasy series amongst other things. They were my first big multi-series epic and I looked forward to each new volume. I still remember being passed the first in the series, Pawn of Prophecy, by Kevin Lawrence back in school (I wonder whatever happened to Kevin?)

Great characters such as Silk, Barak, Durnik, Garion, Pol and Mr Wolf took me on many adventures through perilous lands.

Born in Spokane in Washington State, Eddings studied English at university in Oregon, and then spent two years in the army in Germany, which funded him through graduate studies in Middle English. He went on to work for Boeing, eventually settling in Denver where he began his writing career.

Now sadly David Eddings has passed away aged 77.

He once said, "I'm never going to be in danger of getting a Nobel prize for literature, I'm a storyteller, not a prophet. I'm just interested in a good story".

He will be missed.

What are your memories of Eddings' books? If they were going to make a film based on them who would you cast in it?


Source: Topless Robot

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David Carradine - Sadly The Five Finger Death Punch got him

Really sad news. Bangkok's KABC network has broken the news that kung fu icon David Carradine (Kill Bill) was found dead in a hotel room in Bangkok this morning.

Carradine was working on a new film in Thailand called Stretch. Initial reports suggested suicide by hanging but Carradine's manager, Chuck Binder confirmed to Bangkok's WABC network that he believed Carradine had died of natural causes.

However, Thai police told the BBC that hed was found by a hotel maid sitting in a wardrobe with a rope around his neck and body on Thursday morning.

"His death is shocking and sad. He was full of life, always wanting to work ... a great person," Chuck Binder said.

Carradine, who became famous in the 1970s when he starred as Kwai Chang Caine in the television series "Kung Fu," was 72.

His career included more than 100 feature films, two dozen television movies and theater work. Carradine was last seen in this year's release, Crank 2: High Voltage, where he played Poon Dong.

He was married five times and divorced four, is survived by his widow, Annie Bierman and four children.

There currently seem to be a few conflicting stories as to what exactly happened. I'd personally have loved it if he passed away while fighting off numerous ninjas while saving the hotel maid.

Whatever way you look at it another icon has passed away. What are your memories of the Kung Fu star?

Source: CNN

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Dom Deluise has died

Sad news. Captain Chaos has passed away. TMZ had the news.

We've just learned that Dom DeLuise -- who starred in such classics as "The Cannonball Run", "Blazing Saddles" and was the voice of Pizza the Hutt in "Spaceballs" -- died last night in a Los Angeles hospital.

We're told he passed away peacefully in his sleep at around 6 PM.

I remember watching The Cannonball Run as a kid and just loving the way Dom and Burt worked together. He'll be missed.

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Andy Hallett has passed away

Andy Hallett, who played the singing nightclub-host demon Lorne (who could read people from their auras when they sang) in Angel, has died of heart failure at age 33
E! Online reports that the actor passed away at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles on Sunday night with his father Dave at his side.

Hallett had struggled with heart failure for several years and been hospitalised several times.

After appearing in more than 70 episodes of the show, Hallett concentrated on his music career and performed across the United States.

Source: Moviegrrl

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Maurice Jarre has passed away

French composer Maurice Jarre, best known for his music for Hollywood films, has died in Los Angeles at 84, after suffering from cancer.

Jarre, father of the composer Jean-Michel Jarre, rose to prominence relatively late in life.

His breakthrough came in 1962 when he wrote the score for Lawrence of Arabia, for which he was awarded an Oscar.

He won two further Oscars for Doctor Zhivago and A Passage to India, and composed music for more than 150 films.

A further six Academy Award nominations came Jarre's way for his scores on other high profile films, including 1980s hits Ghost, Gorillas In The Mist and Witness.

The musician also earned two Bafta Awards, four Golden Globes and a Grammy in a career rich with accolades.

His scores enhanced the work of some of the film industry's greatest directors - among others David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston and Luchino Visconti.

He also wrote symphonic music for theatre, ballet and television, including the 1970s mini-series Jesus of Nazareth.

Jarre, who moved to the US in the 1960s, was married four times and is the father of Jean-Michel Jarre, a pioneer of electronic music.

His other son, Kevin, is a screenwriter based in the US.

One of his final public appearances was at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, where he received a lifetime achievement award.

At the time, festival director Dieter Kosslick paid tribute to Jarre saying: "Film composers often are in the shadows of great directors and acting stars.

"It's different with Maurice Jarre - the music of Doctor Zhivago, like much of his work, is world-famous and remains unforgettable in cinema history."

Source: BBC

Thanks to TeenyR for letting me know.

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Natasha Richardson has passed away

In a story from The Hollywood Reporter, Natasha Richardson, a veteran of film, TV and theater, passed away on Wednesday in New York. She was 45.

The actress picked up a Tony Award in 1998 for her performance in the musical "Cabaret."

She died after obtaining a head injury this past Monday while she was skiing in Canada. Her death was confirmed in a statement by Alan Nierob, the LA-based publicist for Richardson's husband Liam Neeson.

Currently, there are no public details about the actresses cause of death. She was removed from life support Wednesday.

"Liam Neeson, his sons and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha," Nierob's statment said. "They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."

The actress was injured at the Mont Tremblant resort just north of Montreal. It is said that she "experienced no immediate distress."

The actress then experienced a headache about an hour later, and she was taken to a hospital in Ste. Agathe, Quebec. After that she was transferred to the Hopital du Sacre-Coeur de Montreal.

Tuesday she was transported to the Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

She also acted in Ken Russell's 1986 film Gothic as well as Paul Schrader's 1988 film Patty Hearst.

Source: Movieweb

This is so sad. LFF's thoughts are with her family.

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Ron Silver has passed away

Actor and longtime political activist Ron Silver died this morning, succumbing to a long battle with cancer, friends of the liberal Democrat-turned-GOP stalwart told The Post.

"Ron Silver died peacefully in his sleep with his family around him this morning," said Robin Bronk, executive director of the Creative Coalition, which Silver helped create.

"He had been fighting esophageal cancer for two years and his family is making arrangements for a private service."

Friends of Silver first told Post columnist Cindy Adams of the native New Yorker's death.

The steely-eyed, blunt-talking Silver, 62, enjoyed a long career on the stage, TV and in movies, and most recently hosted a public affairs talk show on Sirius satellite radio.

Silver might be best known for playing legal scholar Alan Dershowitz in "Reversal of Fortune," about the successful appeal of Claus von Bulow's conviction for putting his socialite wife into a permanent coma.

Once a self-identified lifelong Democrat, Silver was a founding member of the liberal-leaning Creative Coalition in 1989. But he made a breathtaking political transformation, going from far left to radical right after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

He spoke at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York, enthusiastically backing a second term for President Bush.

"Twelve years ago I was here for the Democratic convention. I was on the platform committee. Zell Miller was the keynote speaker. A lot's changed since then, I can tell you," a chuckling Silver told The Washington Post.

"If you asked me on September 10, 2001, would I consider going to the Republican National Convention and speaking, I would have thought you were from another planet and didn't know who I was."

Silver's last public appearance came on "Larry King Live" in late October just before last year's presidential election.

The actor seemed to be swinging slightly back to the left, and took a moderate, down-the-line stance on then-Sen. Barack Obama's race with GOP rival John McCain.

Silver acknowledged the GOP's failings under President Bush and seemed resigned to an oncoming landslide.

"The Republican Party, if they are out of power for a while, needs to regroup and rethink who they are as a party," he said. "This deregulation, this whole Reagan Revolution did not seem to work in this crisis."

Silver's art followed his life.

In 19 episodes of the monster political drama "The West Wing," between 2001 and 2006, Silver played hard-driving political consultant Bruno Gianelli, who brought his brash advice to mythical Democratic president Josiah "Jed" Bartlet.

The Gianelli character resurfaced in the "West Wing's" last two seasons when he - like Silver in real life - switched teams and represented a GOP presidential candidate played by Alan Alda.

Source: New York Post

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Howard Zieff has passed away. My Girl Private Benjamin mourns.

Howard Zieff, the director of such comedies as Private Benjamin, Unfaithfully Yours and My Girl, has passed away this past Saturday, February 21, 2009 in Los Angeles from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 81.

Zieff came to films after a distinguished career as a top advertising print photographer and television commercial director, where he developed his flair for comedy in many of the campaigns he worked on. He also had a good idea for up-and-coming talent, having cast pre-fame Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro and Richard Dreyfuss in various commercials.

In the early 1970s, Zieff left advertising and headed from New York City to Hollywood. His feature directorial debut was the 1973 light-hearted crime caper Slither with James Caan, Peter Boyle and Sally Kellerman. He followed its moderate success with Hearts Of The West (1975) with Jeff Bridges and House Calls (1978) with Walther Matthau. For 1979’s The Main Event, Zieff reunited stars Barbara Streisand and Ryan O’Neil, whoi had had a big hit in 1972 with What’s Up, Doc?.

Zieff’s biggest success came with 1980’s Private Benjamin, which starred Goldie Hawn as a woman widowed on her wedding night who impulsively joins the Army with disastrous results. Best remembered for her character’s sparring with a drill sergeant played by Eileen Brennan, Hawn would receive an Academy Award nomination for her work in the film. Both Private Benjamin and House Calls would be spun off as short-lived television series, though Zieff was not involved with either endeavor.

For the 1984 Dudley Moore-starring Unfaithfully Yours, Zieff found himself remaking Preston Sturges’ 1948 original to mixed results. Zieff would draw on his advertising background for the 1989 Michael Keaton comedy The Dream Team.

His final two films were the 1991 coming-of-age dramedy My Girl and its 1994 sequel, My Girl 2.

Source: Film Buff Newsreel

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James Whitmore has passed away

James Whitmore, the veteran Tony and Emmy award-winning actor who brought American icons Will Rogers, Harry Truman and Theodore Roosevelt to life in one-man shows, died Friday. He was 87.

• Golden Gate Park signage still needs work 02.07.09

Mr. Whitmore died of lung cancer at his home in Malibu, said his son, Steve. He was diagnosed with the disease a week before Thanksgiving.

"He cared about acting; his whole life was dedicated to the theater and to movies," said actor David Huddleston, a longtime friend who appeared in Mr. Whitmore's 1964 movie "Black Like Me," and did a couple of plays with him.

James Arness, who appeared with Mr. Whitmore in the movies "Battleground" and "Them!," said Mr. Whitmore was "an actor's actor," adding that "it was always a treat to work with him."

Arness also remembered the "great intensity" Mr. Whitmore could bring to a role.

"When we wanted to get an actor to play a character who had that quality, Jimmy was the guy you'd think of," said Arness, who starred in "Gunsmoke," a TV series that Mr. Whitmore appeared on a number of times.

A stocky World War II Marine Corps veteran who bore a resemblance to Spencer Tracy, Mr. Whitmore earned early acclaim.

In 1948, he won a Tony award for outstanding performance by a newcomer in the role of an amusingly cynical Army Air Forces sergeant in the Broadway production of "Command Decision."

Mr. Whitmore's Broadway success brought him to Hollywood, where he received an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor in his second movie, the hit 1949 World War II drama "Battleground," in which he played a tobacco-chewing, battle-weary Army sergeant.

He appeared in movies including "The Asphalt Jungle," "Them!," "Kiss Me Kate," "Battle Cry," "Oklahoma!," "Planet of the Apes," "Tora! Tora! Tora!," "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Majestic."

A frequent guest actor on television, Mr. Whitmore also starred in three series: the 1960-62 legal drama "The Law and Mr. Jones," the 1969 detective drama "My Friend Tony" and the 1972-74 hospital sitcom "Temperatures Rising."He was also the father-figure who led a group of survivors and kept everybody's hopes alive with his unforgettable tour-de-force performance in Rod Serling's hour-long TWILIGHT ZONE episode, "On Thursday We Leave For Home."

In 2000, Mr. Whitmore won an Emmy award as outstanding guest actor in a drama series for "The Practice," and he received a 2003 Emmy nomination in the same category for "Mister Sterling."

An avid flower and vegetable gardener, Mr. Whitmore also was known as the longtime commercial pitchman for Miracle-Gro garden products.

Although he starred in plays such as "Our Town," "Inherit the Wind" and "Death of a Salesman," Mr. Whitmore was best known for his three one-man shows: as Truman in "Give 'em Hell, Harry!," as Roosevelt in "Bully" and as Rogers in "Will Rogers' U.S.A."

The 1975 film of "Give 'em Hell, Harry!" earned Mr. Whitmore a best actor Oscar nomination.

Born in White Plains, N.Y., on Oct. 1, 1921, Mr. Whitmore later moved to Buffalo, N.Y., where he attended public schools until his senior year of high school, when he attended the Choate School in Wallingford, Conn., on a football scholarship.

He was a pre-law major on an athletic scholarship at Yale University but had to quit playing football after suffering two knee injuries.

Mr. Whitmore joined the Marines during his senior year in 1942 and served in the South Pacific. After his discharge, he eventually moved to New York City and used the GI Bill to study acting.

In 1947, he married his first wife, Nancy Mygatt, with whom he had three sons. They were divorced after 24 years. After Mr. Whitmore's second marriage in the 1970s, to actress Audra Lindley, he and his first wife were remarried but divorced after two years.

In addition to son Steve, Mr. Whitmore is survived by his wife, Noreen, sons James Jr. and Dan, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Source: SFGate

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Ricardo Montalban has boarded the plane to Fantasy Island

Ricardo Montalban, the suave leading man who was one of the first Mexican-born actors to make it big in Hollywood and who was best known for his role as Mr. Roarke on TV's "Fantasy Island," has died. He was 88.

Montalban died Wednesday morning at his Los Angeles home of complications related to old age, said his son-in-law, Gilbert Smith.

Within the entertainment industry, Montalban was widely respected for his efforts to create opportunities for Latinos, although he and others believed that his activism hurt his career. In 1970, he founded the nonprofit Nosotros Foundation to improve the image and increase employment of Latinos in Hollywood.

"He paved the way for being outspoken about the images and roles that Latinos were playing in movies," said Luis Reyes, co-author of "Hispanics in Hollywood" (2000).

On Wednesday, actor Edward James Olmos called Montalban "one of the true giants of arts and culture."

"He was a stellar artist and a consummate person and performer with a tremendous understanding of culture . . . and the ability to express it in his work," Olmos told The Times.

Montalban was already a star of Mexican movies in the 1940s when MGM cast him as a bullfighter opposite Esther Williams in "Fiesta" and put him under contract. He would go on to appear alongside such movie greats as Clark Gable and Lana Turner.

When major film roles dried up for him in the 1970s, he turned to stage and eventually TV, where he was familiar to millions as the mysterious host whose signature line, “Welcome to Fantasy Island,” opened the hit ABC show that aired from 1978 to 1984.

While "Fantasy Island" was renewing Montalban's career and giving him financial stability, he also won an Emmy for his performance as Chief Satangkai in the 1978 ABC miniseries "How the West Was Won."

In the 1970s and '80s, Montalban was also familiar to TV viewers as a commercial spokesman for Chrysler. He was later widely spoofed for his silky allusion to the “soft Corinthian leather” of the Chrysler Cordoba, although no such leather existed.

While making "Fantasy Island," Montalban also gave one of his best movie performances -- as Khan Noonien Singh in the “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” (1982), a follow-up to a beloved 1967 “Star Trek” television episode that also featured Montalban.

New Yorker magazine critic Pauline Kael said Montalban's performance as Khan "was the only validation he has ever had of his power to command the big screen."

Born Nov. 25, 1920, in Mexico City, Montalban was the youngest of four children of Castilian Spaniards who had immigrated in 1906 to the city, where Montalban's father owned a dry goods store.

Montalban came to Los Angeles as a teenager with his oldest brother, Carlos, who had lived in the city and worked for the studios.

"I felt as if I knew California already, because of the movies," Montalban said in "Reflections: A Life in Two Worlds," the 1980 autobiography he wrote with Bob Thomas.

Montalban studied English at Fairfax High School, where an MGM talent scout noticed him in a student play. He was offered a screen test, but his brother advised him against taking it and took him on a business trip to New York City.

The handsome Montalban soon found himself the star of a short film that was made to play on a screen atop a jukebox. That three-minute movie, which debuted at the Hurricane Bar in midtown Manhattan, led to small roles in plays.

When his mother's illness took him back to Mexico, Montalban got a one-line role in a parody of "The Three Musketeers," starring Cantinflas. Around that time, he also met Georgiana Belzer, a model and Loretta Young's sister, whom he married in 1944. She died in 2007.

Montalban intended to stay in Mexico, where his film career was taking off, but MGM wanted him for "Fiesta." In the 1947 musical, he had a memorable dance scene with a young Cyd Charisse.

"Fiesta" led to a contract at MGM, where he had a friendly rivalry with Fernando Lamas -- later Williams' husband off-screen -- as the studio's resident "Latin lovers." Bill Murray immortalized the duel between the two men with his classic "Saturday Night Live" skit, "Quien es mas macho, Fernando Lamas o Ricardo Montalban?"

Source: LA Times
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Claude Berri, director of Jean de Florette, dies at 74

French cinema is today mourning the death of Claude Berri, a towering figure within the industry for more than four decades. Berri, who scored an international hit with Jean de Florette in the mid-1980s, died on Monday of a suspected stroke. He was 74.

Although Berri started out as an actor, his greatest success would come from a position behind the camera. He won an Oscar for his debut short film, Le Poulet, in 1965 and was directing his 20th feature, Treasure, when he died. Producers said last night that the film would now be completed without him.

Berri's other films include Germinal, Lucie Aubrac and the astonishing double-bill of Jean de Florette and its sequel Manon des Sources, which helped make international stars of Gérard Depardieu, Daniel Auteuil and Emmanuelle Béart. A sweeping period tragedy, evocatively played out in rural Provence, Jean de Florette went on to win its creator the best film Bafta of 1987.

Berri also produced upwards of 50 feature films, including Roman Polanski's Tess, La Reine Margot and lucrative instalments of the Asterix & Obelix franchise. Last year he scored two major successes – producing both the comedy blockbuster Welcome to the Sticks (Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis) and the award-winning drama Couscous.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy paid tribute to Berri yesterday, hailing him as "the most legendary figure of French cinema" and adding that "all who knew or approached him are now in mourning". Gilles Jacob, president of the Cannes film festival, was more succinct: "French cinema is now an orphan," he said.

Source: The Guardian

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TCM Remembers those who passed away in 2008

TCM put this tribute together. This video montage is dedicated to the people from the film industry who have passed away in 2008. The song is "God Only Knows" by Joe Henry. This montage was updated to add Van Johnson who died December 12th 2008.

Here are some of the people who left us in 2008:

Eartha Kitt
Earle Hagen
Eddy Arnold
Edmund Hillary
Eileen Herlie
Estelle Getty
Evelyn Keyes
Gene Galusha
George Carlin
Giuseppe Di Stefano
Guillaume Depardieu
Harvey Korman
Hazel Court
Heath Ledger
Heather Stohler
Huntington Hartford
Isaac Hayes
Ivan Dixon
Jason Rae
Jeff Healey
Jill Adams
Jim McKay
Jo Stafford
John Law
John Stewart
June Travis
Abby Mann
Alexander Courage
Allan Melvin
Andy Palacio
Anita Page
Anthony Minghella
Antonello Zara
Arthur Clarke
Barry Morse
Bernie Brillstein
Bernie Mac
Bettie Page
Beverly Garland
Bo Diddley
Boyd Coddington
Brad Renfro
Charlton Heston
Christian Brando
Clay Felker
Cyd Charisse
David Groh
Dino Dvornik
Dino Risi
Dody Goodman
Kenneth Keith Kallenbach
Lee Grivas
Lois Nettleton
Louisa Horton
Margaret Truman
Mitch Mitchell
Nina Foch
Odetta Holmes
Ola Brunkert
Ollie Johnston
Paul Benedict
Paul Davis
Paul Newman
Paul Scofield
Pete Candoli
Richard Widmark
Rick Wright
Robert Prosky
Ron Leavitt
Rosafina Gonzalez
Roy Scheider
Ruslana Korshunova
Sean Levert
Stan Winston
Stanley Kamel
Suzanne Pleshette
Sydney Pollack
Tiffany Sloan
Tim Russert
Van Johnson
Vampira: Maila Nurmi
Warren Cowan
Yma Sumac
Yves Laurent

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Travolta 'heartbroken' at son's death

MSN - John Travolta is still in shock following the death of their 16-year-old son Jett in the Bahamas on Friday.

"He never dreamed of this - their relationship was so close," Travolta family lawyer Mike Ossi told People.com. "He always said 'I'm happy as long as my kids are happy.' He is heartbroken. To bury your son is the worst thing you can ever do."

According to a police spokeswoman, Jett was found collapsed in a bathroom on Friday after having a seizure and hitting his head on the bathtub.

Ossi, who is in the Bahamas with John and his actress wife Kelly Preston, said that the actor tried to resuscitate his son while waiting for the emergency services to arrive.

"He didn't want anything to happen to that boy, and he kept on trying to revive him," he said. "He did mouth-to-mouth until they had to physically remove John to take Jett to the hospital."

Jett had a history of having seizures. He was taken by ambulance to a Freeport hospital where he was pronounced dead.

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The Random - Watchmen court case, The Devil's Commandos, Shoot out at Benjamin Button screening, Green Hornet, Eartha Kitt has passed away, Hairspray

Will Fox be distributing Warner's "Watchmen"? A Los Angeles federal judge has ruled that Rothman's crowd owns the distribution rights to the superhero picture, representing a setback for WB's plans to release the pic in March. Variety has more on this surprising story..

Disney has bailed out of co-financing the third movie in Walden Media's "Chronicles of Narnia" series, according to published reports.

Twentieth Century Fox's Jennifer Aniston-Owen Wilson starrer "Marley and Me" led the crowded pack of Christmas Day openers, grossing an estimated $14.8 million from 3,480 playdates to become the best opening ever for Dec. 25.

Kam Heskin will reprise her role as Paige Morgan - a part she's played since Julia Stiles hung up the glass slippers after the first film - in a fourth "Prince and Me" film. The new film, set to lens Feb 9, will be directed by Catherine Cyran.

Tony Todd ("Candyman"), Christopher Showerman ("Big Game") and Ethan Phillips (TVs "Star Trek : Voyager") and will star in director Tim 'Voyager' Russ's "A Night at the Bijou". The film tells of a rock band and group of friends who work at a movie theater who race to find a replacement for their injured drummer in time for their “Big Break” show.

The creators of the "Gilligan's Island" TV series want to see Michael Cera ("Superbad", "Juno") play the title character in a film version.

Thomas Jane ("The Mist") is set to star in a World War II action horror film called ''The Devil's Commandos''. Its rumoured that Jane will also direct the film.

A man enraged because a family was talking during a Christmas showing of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" dealt with the situation by shooting the father and pelting the son with popcorn.

Shawn Levy tells MTV he nixed a couple of characters from the upcoming "Night at the Museum 2" at the last minute. “We actually had a whole Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong thing, where we were going to have them get into a wrestling match at the door of the capsule, like who goes first,” Levy said of a planned cameo from the lunar trotting pair. “But we thought it would be historically blasphemous!”

"The Punisher : War Zone" will be skipping theaters altogether in Australia. Rumour has it it's going direct-to-DVD in April.

Adam Shankman tells Collider that the "Hairspray" sequel won't be happening anytime soon. ''That certainly will not happen this year. There’s only an outline and we’re out to writers.'' Shankman also said the "Topper" remake, something he planned to do with Steve Martin, is "kind of in lame duck land" right now.

Teresa Palmer is planning to reunite with "2:37" director Murali K.Thalluri on a film. "When I did 2:37, I had never acted before. It was such a lucky break. He picked me off the street and said come and be in a movie. He'd never done a movie before either. Now we've both had a bit more on-set experience, and matured, I think there could be a great collaboration between us."

The legendary Eartha Kitt died of colon cancer at the age of 81. The African-American actress and singer with one of the most 'purrr-fect' voices to ever grace the screen or stage starred in such films as "The Mark of the Hawk," "Erik the Viking," "Boomerang," "The Emperor's New Groove" and "Holes". Her most memorable work though lies in her renditions of songs like "Santa Baby", and her role as Catwoman in three episodes of the classic 1960's "Batman" TV series.

Last week it was announced that Stephen Chow had abandoned his position as director on upcoming film adaptation of "The Green Hornet" - but was still set to co-star in the film as the Hornet's sidekick, Kato. Well, Apparently Chow's considering not playing Kato now. He's blaming it on scheduling (saying he wants to film some Jack Black-Superhero film)

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Majel Barrett-Roddenberry has been beamed up to the Starship in the sky

From /film: Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, the widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, died today of leukemia at her home in Bel-Air at the age of 76. She went peacefully and was surrounded by her son Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry Jr and family friends.

Majel Barrett has appeared in every incarnation of the popular science fiction series and is sometimes referred to as “the First Lady of Star Trek”. In addition to appearing on screen in various different capacities, Majel also provided the voice of starship onboard computers for The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, most of the Star Trek films and computer games. Majel recently completed voice work for JJ Abrams‘ Star Trek., reprising her role as the voice of the Starship Enterprise computer.
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Bettie Page has passed away

Legendary pinup queen Bettie Page died of pneumonia at the age of 85 in a Los Angeles, California, hospital Thursday, a week after suffering a heart attack, according to her agent.

Bettie Page, whose sultry looks and risque photos turned heads in the 1950s, died Thursday.

"She captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality," said agent Mark Roesler in a written statement. "She is the embodiment of beauty."

Page, said to be one of the most photographed people of the past century, became a recluse in recent decades. Yet, her images continued to be used around the world to market Bettie Page action figures, clothing lines and other merchandise.

The Web site, BettiePage.com, logs about 20 million hits a month, Roesler said. A TVGuide.com poll recently placed Bettie Page as the "ultimate sex goddess," outscoring others such as Marilyn Monroe.

Page was born to a poor family in Tennessee on April 22, 1923. While her birth certificate spelled her name "Betty," she changed the spelling later in life to "Bettie."

At a time when few women pursued a college education, Page earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Peabody College in Tennessee in 1944, according to her official biography.

Her teaching career, however, was hampered by her looks, she said.

"I couldn't control my students, especially the boys," she is quoted as saying.

After her modeling career ended, Page returned to Peabody College to work on a master's degree, the bio said. Her southern drawl and a refusal to sleep with a Hollywood producer hampered her acting career, according to her bio.

"I didn't like his looks," Page said. "I wouldn't have gone to bed with him anyway. He was a creep. He drove off in his big car and scolded me, 'You'll be sorry.' I wasn't."

Page said she regretted not accepting studio boss Jack Warner's offer of another screen-test, but it came while she was trying to save her marriage to her first husband, Billy Neal.

Her modeling breakthrough began after she divorced Neal in 1947 when she met a police officer whose hobby was photography. He suggested the black bangs, which became her trademark, her bio said. Not long after, her images were everywhere, gracing magazine covers and locker pin-ups.

Page wore nothing but a Santa hat in Playboy's January 1955 centerfold. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner said her appearance in his magazine's first year was a milestone.

"She became, in time, an American icon, her winning smile and effervescent personality apparent in every pose," Hefner said.

"A kinky connection was added by Irving Klaw's spanking, fetish and bondage photos, which became part of the Bettie Page mystique," Hefner said. "They were playful parodies that are now perceived as the early inspiration for Madonna's excursions into the realm of sexual perversion."

Perhaps the most memorable photos of Page were her bondage poses, which she said were all pretend.

"I never understood how anyone believed those poses were sexy," she later said. "To be tied up? I don't get it."

"She was a remarkable woman, truly someone that changed the social norms, not only here in this country, but also around the world," Roesler said. "While Jackie Robinson was changing the racial attitudes, Bettie Page was changing our attitudes on sex. She became a James Dean type of 'rebel' figure as she allowed people to be less inhibited and look at sex in a different way."

Saucy photos of Paige in skimpy clothing or none at all helped to lead the way for the sexual revolution of the 1960s.

Page suddenly disappeared from the scene in 1958. It was only decades later revealed that she re-emerged to explain that she underwent a religious conversion and moved to Florida.

Her life took a dark turn starting in 1978 after her third marriage failed, Roesler said.

Page went through "some mental instability, violent mood swings, and serious trouble with the law" and was eventually diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, according to her bio.

Page reappeared in public in December 2003 for Playboy's 50th anniversary party, where she made a grand entrance with Anna Nicole Smith.

It was the only time in the past 50 years that Page allowed her photograph to be taken, Roesler said.

A private funeral service is planned for Tuesday. Page will buried at Westwood Cemetery in Los Angeles, just a few feet away from Monroe.

Source: CNN

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