Celebrity Deaths

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 12:35 pm

twinsrwe wrote:The fitness guru, Jack LaLanne, died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, CA. The cause of death was respiratory failure due to pneumonia. He was 96.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/2 ... 12845.html

96! It pays to stay in shape. As a boy Jack was a junk food-eating sofa spud. One day his mother dragged him down to listen to a speech given by an exercise expert and Jack was hooked. From then on it was exercise and healthy eating and living.

-1bigsteve (o:

DJ · Post by DJ » Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:04 pm

We've overlooked Blake Edwards, I believe, and Anne Francis, of "Forbidden Planet" and the lyrics to the great opener from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." My fave of her oeuvre is that episode of "The Twilight Zone," in which she's the mannequin who's overstayed her turn as a real person ... "Marsha, Marsha" ... creepy!

Also, Betty Garrett, who costarred in some big MGM musicals, such as "On the Town," in which she sang "My Place," in the cab with Frank Sinatra. Quite the dirty ditty for its day-- then she pays her sick roomie, played by Alice Pearce (the original Gladys Cravitz), to skedaddle to the movies whilst she and Frank ... do what??? Bea Benaderet, who went on to play Kate Bradley on "Petticoat Junction," played BG's role in the original B'way production, and has a brief scene as a standing subway passenger in the movie.

BG's husband, Larry Parks, who made a success playing Al Jolson in two biopics, was ruined by the McCarthy witch hunts. BG later played Irene Lorenzo on "All in the Family" and was of course Laverne & Shirley's landlady, Mrs. Babbish. Nice that she could make her biggest splash with the pre-cable-TV generation in those sitcoms.

As for Jack Lalanne, my mother "followed" his show to help reduce the pregnancy weight gained during the year I was born. There's always a "guilt story" about the pregnancy and delivery, arent' there? That's the mildest one I've heard.

Constantine · Post by **Constantine** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 11:05 pm

Jane Russell died today at 89.

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:36 pm

Constantine wrote:Jane Russell died today at 89.

I liked Jane Russell. I saw an interview about 25 years ago and she seemed so down to earth. A real person. 89 is not a bad age but It's a shame she is gone. Almost all of the real talent from yesteryear are gone now. About all we have are the Lindsey Lohans and Charlie Sheens. There are some good actors around but it's not like it used to be. What has become of Hollywood?

-1bigsteve (o:

Yooper · Post by **Yooper** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:53 pm

It could be that there was a lot of actors around who were born in the 1920's and shortly before who were the icons of the '50's and '60's and maybe that didn't leave much room for newcomers. The fact that they all retired about the same time leaves a big gap.

DJ · Post by DJ » Wed Mar 02, 2011 2:46 pm

Plus, the "youth demographic" reigns. Which is one reason you may have seen James Franco lay an egg at the Oscars this year, easily upstaged by Kirk Douglas, who's in his nineties now, I believe.

Let's face it, a lot of the "old time" stars left are often older than we realize, and don't work if they don't have to. Ernest Borgnine is 94, for gosh sakes! Joan Collins will be 78 this year.

Anyway, it was nice to see all the Mom's saluted at the Academy Awards this year. If Lohan and Sheen respected their parents' (and other people's, in general) feelings more than they apparently do, their attitudes and behavior would take a decided turn for the better.

As for Miss Russell, she was far more talented than given credit for-- she was superb with MM in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and with Bob Hope in the "Paleface" pix. And ... those "cross your heart" commercials were iconic of the '60s and '70s.

Yooper · Post by **Yooper** » Wed Mar 23, 2011 9:46 am

Liz Taylor died today, she was 79.

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Wed Mar 23, 2011 7:08 pm

Liz has been ill for quite some time, so it was just a matter of time. It is my understanding that she died of congestive heart failure.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/03/23/o ... index.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/2 ... 39435.html

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/e ... -79-170360

May she rest in peace.

shakiboo · Post by **shakiboo** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 12:32 pm

I thought she was older then that, there goes another legend. I read her biography last summer. She did indeed live an interesting life. but don't think she was all that happy.

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 9:25 pm

shakiboo wrote:I thought she was older then that, there goes another legend. I read her biography last summer. She did indeed live an interesting life. but don't think she was all that happy.

It's still hard to believe she is gone. I liked her regardless of all the scandal. She always seemed to be there.

I don't know why, but something she said in her 1964 auto-bio has stayed in my head these past 20 years since I read it. She said that a man she befriended asked to borrow her expensive easel and paint set and then never returned it. It's strange how odd things stick in our heads.

It was said today that her estate may be worth 1 billion dollars. Too bad she won't be able to spend it. I don't think she was very happy either, Pam. She had a lot of pain in her life.

Sweet dreams, Elizabeth.

-1bigsteve (o:

Constantine · Post by **Constantine** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 4:10 pm

Actor Farley Granger (Rope, Strangers on a Train) died Sunday at the age of 85.

DJ · Post by DJ » Wed Mar 30, 2011 3:06 pm

Thanks, C-- I missed that. Those are two great Hitchcock films, too! "Rope" is really unusual, in that Hitch tried to shoot it without changes in camera set-ups, although the camera had to be reloaded with film every ten minutes, so it will pause on a wall or an object or a person, and then you have a bit of a skip in the pick-up. Don't miss that one, or "Strangers on a Train"-- maybe Robert Walker's best performance. He sure is insistently creepy. Great casting there!

There's much about Farley in Arthur Laurents' memoir, in which the author details their relationship. Don't think Farley was too thrilled. I believe Laurents is still living. I know he directed a recent Broadway revival of "West Side Story." He wrote the libretto for the show, as well as that for "Gypsy."

Also-- Hugh Martin-- a composer for Broadway (dating back to the 1930s) and many classic Hollywood musicals-- died March 11th. He was 96.

His most famous song? "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," for "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944).

Constantine · Post by **Constantine** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 4:44 pm

DJ wrote:There's much about Farley in Arthur Laurents' memoir, in which the author details their relationship. Don't think Farley was too thrilled. I believe Laurents is still living.

I don't think he cared. Granger was quite candid about his preferences (or lack of them). He wrote about them in his own memoir, Include Me Out (admittedly seven years later). Laurents is indeed still living.

shakiboo · Post by **shakiboo** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:16 pm

1bigsteve wrote:
shakiboo wrote:I thought she was older then that, there goes another legend. I read her biography last summer. She did indeed live an interesting life. but don't think she was all that happy.

It's still hard to believe she is gone. I liked her regardless of all the scandal. She always seemed to be there.

I don't know why, but something she said in her 1964 auto-bio has stayed in my head these past 20 years since I read it. She said that a man she befriended asked to borrow her expensive easel and paint set and then never returned it. It's strange how odd things stick in our heads.

It was said today that her estate may be worth 1 billion dollars. Too bad she won't be able to spend it. I don't think she was very happy either, Pam. She had a lot of pain in her life.

Sweet dreams, Elizabeth.

-1bigsteve (o:

Wow, a billion? Bet that get's hung up in the court's for a long time! You sure never hear much about any of her children. None got involved with the movie industry, and you never heard about any of them breaking the law, or involved with drugs etc. She's one who could actually say "I did it my way" and truely mean it!

Fargo · Post by **Fargo** » Fri Apr 22, 2011 11:24 am

According to the internet Bruce Gordon (AKA Frank Nitti on the Untouchables) died in January of this year 12 days before his 95th birthday.
I always liked that hat and the pin stripped suit he wore in the untouchables.

shakiboo · Post by **shakiboo** » Wed May 04, 2011 7:38 pm

Jackie Cooper died today, he was 88.

Angel · Post by **Angel** » Thu May 05, 2011 7:58 am

Check out this site and it will tell you all about Liz Taylor's children, with photographs.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/eli ... d=13223481

shakiboo · Post by **shakiboo** » Thu May 05, 2011 6:07 pm

Thanks Angel! I'd wondered about her children but hadn't heard much about them. I was surprised that none of them looked much like her, that's too bad, she had such beautiful eyes.

Constantine · Post by **Constantine** » Thu May 05, 2011 7:22 pm

[Forget I said that.]

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Sun May 08, 2011 11:44 am

I am also surprised that her kids don't look a thing like her. I agree, she did have beautiful eyes!

Here is a pic, which shows her beautiful violet eyes:

shakiboo · Post by **shakiboo** » Sun May 08, 2011 1:02 pm

Oh Yes!! She was in deed beautiful!! Thanks Judy!

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Sun May 08, 2011 4:07 pm

You're welcome, Pam.

DJ · Post by DJ » Mon May 09, 2011 1:05 pm

Strange that we were discussing Arthur Laurents vis a vis the recent death of Farley Granger, for Laurents died this past week, still active in the theatre till the end.

Among his many stage and screen credits are the libretti for "West Side Story" and "Gypsy." He directed a recent Broadway revival of "WSS," as well as several of the successful Broadway revivals of "Gypsy." It was his brilliant idea to build the show around "Momma Rose," without question the greatest female role in American musical theatre.

Angel · Post by **Angel** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 1:29 pm

James Arness just died at the age of 88.

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 4:57 pm

I was wondering is James Arness was going to be the next entry in the this thread!

According to his business manager, Ginny Frazer, James Arness was in relatively good health, but died in his sleep of natural causes, at his home in Brentwood, CA.

Sources:
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/20 ... at-age-88/

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainmen ... at_88.html

Yooper · Post by **Yooper** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 10:57 pm

It's hard to believe so many familiar faces are eighty-something! It doesn't seem all that long ago I was watching "Gunsmoke" on television.

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 6:34 am

Clarice Taylor, who played Bill Cosby's mother, dies of heart failure at 93.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/03/arts/ ... r-mom.html

shakiboo · Post by **shakiboo** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 12:37 pm

Yooper wrote:It's hard to believe so many familiar faces are eighty-something! It doesn't seem all that long ago I was watching "Gunsmoke" on television.

I know what you mean! That was one of my Dad's favorite show's for alot of years, so of course we all gathered around the t.v to watch it. It was sure alot better back then, then it is now, t.v. I mean. The Rifleman, Bonanza, Wanted Dead or Alive, Rawhide, and of course Gunsmoke.

shakiboo · Post by **shakiboo** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 12:40 pm

twinsrwe wrote:Clarice Taylor, who played Bill Cosby's mother, dies of heart failure at 93.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/03/arts/ ... r-mom.html

Ah, that's too bad, that show was one the kid's and I never missed! No matter what we were doing we'd stop and turn on the t.v.! They don't make em like that any more!

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 1:11 pm

shakiboo wrote:They don't make em like that any more!

They sure don't, Pam. This is also true of the old westerns you listed in your previous post. One of my favorite old TV shows is, Little House On The Prairie. And what about shows such as, Dallas, Knots Landing, and Sisters?

DJ · Post by DJ » Sun Jun 05, 2011 2:24 pm

There's a fairly new cable channel, ME TV, that shows nothing but repeats of vintage series.

"Gunsmoke" airs every afternoon, along with "Bonanza" and "The Big Valley"!

The weekday evening line-up includes "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "The Bob Newhart Show," and "Cheers."

The channel also shows "Cannon," "Hawaii Five-O," "The Honeymooners," "I Love Lucy," "The Odd Couple," "The Twilight Zone," "M*A*S*H," and "Hogan's Heroes," among others.

Anyway, look for it as a possibility in your cable package, or as something that's there already that you may have overlooked. One day, it just started airing, like a serendipitous bit of bliss in these trying times.

Fargo · Post by **Fargo** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 7:57 am

Marshall Matt Dillon "The first man they look for but the last they want to meet" I don't remember which night of the week it was on but I remember watching it. Back then we only had 1 channel. Doc, Festus and Miss Kitty.

I remember one episode where Dillon was trying to escape from someplace and there was a prisoner there who was not right in the mind because he had been in the place for so long and when Dillon kept trying to get out this guy would rat him out. I think they were trying to dig their way out of the place. I remember them digging. In the end the guy who had not been in his right mind was okay in his mind after they got out.

There was the TV series Mclain's Law with James Armess back in the 80's, it was a good show, but it never lasted long.

I remember I think on Sunday night "The Wonderful World of Disney" would come on at 6:00 pm then "The beachcombers" came on at 7:00 pm and the Irish Rovers came on at 7:30 pm. If I kept quiet I could watch the Iris Rovers then go to bed at 8:00 pm but if I talked to much I got sent to bed after the Beachcombers was over at 7:30 pm.

We got TV here in 1961. I remember when our first TV went in the early 70's I was watching Mr Dress up at the time and the horizontal hold went, then the whole thing went and there was just a white line across the screen.

Constantine · Post by **Constantine** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 4:13 pm

As regards Gunsmoke, you might want to take a look at a hilarious outtake involving Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch of the West). Go to YouTube and look up "Gunsmoke Blooper."

This has been removed for copyright reasons. It is to be found at margarethamilton.com, where it is more accurately labeled "Gunsmoke Outtake." (A blooper it wasn't. It was definitely on purpose!)

Constantine · Post by **Constantine** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 4:23 pm

American operatic bass Giorgio Tozzi died on May 30. (I was amazed when I found out he was born in Chicago and spoke English without an accent.)

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 7:38 pm

DJ wrote:There's a fairly new cable channel, ME TV, that shows nothing but repeats of vintage series.

"Gunsmoke" airs every afternoon, along with "Bonanza" and "The Big Valley"!

The weekday evening line-up includes "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "The Bob Newhart Show," and "Cheers."

The channel also shows "Cannon," "Hawaii Five-O," "The Honeymooners," "I Love Lucy," "The Odd Couple," "The Twilight Zone," "M*A*S*H," and "Hogan's Heroes," among others.

Anyway, look for it as a possibility in your cable package, or as something that's there already that you may have overlooked. One day, it just started airing, like a serendipitous bit of bliss in these trying times.

Oh, WOW, thanks DJ! I'll check it out...

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 8:06 pm

Constantine wrote:As regards Gunsmoke, you might want to take a look at a hilarious outtake involving Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch of the West). Go to YouTube and look up "Gunsmoke Blooper."

OMG, that is hilarious!!! I had to re-play it to make sure she said what I thought she had said, and yes, I heard it correctly!!!

The Marshall sure had a hard time keeping a straight face at the beginning of this scene, so, I would have loved to have seen his facial expression, after she made that final remark!!!

Margaret Hamilton could sure play those wicked parts with reality, couldn’t she?

Thanks for giving us a heads-up on this blooper! I enjoyed it very much.

Constantine · Post by **Constantine** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 8:10 pm

Glad you liked it. From everything I've heard, she was an absolute sweetheart in real life. She certainly had a sense of humor!

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 8:47 pm

Constantine wrote:Glad you liked it. From everything I've heard, she was an absolute sweetheart in real life. She certainly had a sense of humor!

I have heard the same thing about her.

Here is a Biography of Margaret, which I found interesting:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002121/bio

Fargo · Post by **Fargo** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 9:29 am

I remember Margaret Hamilton on an episode of Mr. Rogers when I was a kid, her and Fred ( Rogers ) talked about how she played the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz.

Yooper · Post by **Yooper** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:25 am

Edward Hardwicke died last month, he played Dr. Watson opposite Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes. He was 78.

DJ · Post by DJ » Fri Jun 24, 2011 2:30 pm

Peter Falk, at 83.

More than once I have envisioned him, as Columbo, questioning LAB on The Fourth:

"Miss Borden, how do you know so much about these murders?"

kssunflower · Post by **kssunflower** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 10:40 pm

"Just one more thing, Miss Borden..."

What a great character. He will be sadly missed.

Fargo · Post by **Fargo** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 4:40 am

I read something about PeterFalk about a year or two ago, his daugter and his wife were fighting over control of his estate as his mind was going. The wife won.

Other than as Columbo I always remember Falk as the cab driver in the last part of the movie "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World."

Yooper · Post by **Yooper** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 8:26 am

I remember Peter Falk being in another television series other than Columbo in the mid-sixties, but I can't recall the name of it. "O'Brian" something or other...

diana · Post by **diana** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 1:43 pm

You're right, Yooper. And according to wikipedia, Falk often said he much preferred this 1965 financially unsuccessful series, The Trials of O'Brien, to his hit Columbo series.

Constantine · Post by **Constantine** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 5:10 pm

British actress Margaret Tyzack died on Saturday. Among her other roles were Winifred in the 1967 version of The Forsyte Saga, Queen Anne in The First Churchills, Bette in Cousin Bette, and Antonia, mother of the Emperor Claudius in I, Claudius.

Angel · Post by **Angel** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 2:27 pm

Died- Edith Fellows, 1923-2011
Although she never become a child star, Edith appeared in many popular films of the 1930s, most notably Pennies from Heaven (1936). She also proved herself to be a very versatile actress, playing roles ranging from a spoiled rich girl, as in Heart of the Rio Grande (1942), to a poor orphan girl, as in Pennies from Heaven. Edith was even given her own series, The Five Little Peppers, while under contract to Columbia, and she made four of the Pepper films (the first was Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (1939)) in two years. Between 1929 and 1954, Edith appeared in some fifty films, mostly in juvenile roles due to her short 4' 10" stature. But her career suddenly slowed down in the mid-1950s. Between 1955 and 1980, she appeared in only one film, Lilith (1964), in which she had a bit part. During this time, Edith chose to focus on her family life; she had married producer Freddie Fields in 1946, and their only child, daughter Kathy, was born in 1947. But Edith and Fields divorced in 1955, and the end of her marriage, coupled with other factors, caused Edith to have a nervous breakdown. She recovered, and in 1981, she returned to acting in numerous supporting roles on television. In 1985, fellow former child actor Jackie Cooper announced plans to make a TV movie based on Edith's life, but this project never happened.

Constantine · Post by **Constantine** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 10:00 pm

Conductor Kurt Sanderling, 98

Singer Dolores Hope, widow of Bob Hope, 102!

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 10:15 pm

Dolores Hope outlived both her husband and George Burns. Bob Hope always made me laugh. He was a gas!

Rest in peace, Bob and Dolores.

-1bigsteve (o:

augusta · Post by **augusta** » Wed Oct 26, 2011 10:06 am

I thought I had heard Dolores Hope died. Bless heart. A hundred and two!

I was in a hotel in Chicago recently, and they had the ME channel on tv. Saw the Twilight Zone on it and some old westerns I wasn't familiar with. It looked like a channel I wish they'd offer in the Detroit area here.

We were getting the Retro channel that showed old shows (both the hour and half hour Alfred Hitchcock shows). They either moved it or took it off. Rats!

I saw some tabloid covers a month or so ago that said Doris Day was dying, but I guess she didn't.

I read a strange article about Jerry Lewis in August. I think he's 85. He said he wasn't going to do the MD Telethon this year and would tell why after it aired. I never heard that he talked about it again. Oh! I think he said - in that "strange article" that he slept with Marilyn Monroe? People commented that they didn't believe him.

I can see how he could have gotten close to her, since he knew Dean Martin and Dean Martin was part of the Rat Pack. They were talking like Jerry Lewis was losing his mind in the article. ???