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4 articles from 2006

11 July 2006 | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

June Allyson, the perenially perky actress who played wife, girlfriend and girl-next-door to a long line of leading men in the 40s and 50s, died Saturday at her home in Ojai, California; she was 88. The actress died of pulmonary respiratory failure and acute bronchitis complicated by a long illness, with her husband of 30 years, David Ashrow, at her side. Born Eleanor Geisman in the Bronx, the actress grew up in near-poverty, raised by her divorced mother. After a serious injury at age eight, she spent years confinded in a steel brace, and began both swimming and dancing lessons to increase her mobility. The dancing paid off: in 1938, at age 21, she was cast in the Broadway production Sing Out the News. A prominent role in George Abbott's Best Foot Forward brought her to the attention of Hollywood, and she was later cast by MGM in the 1943 film version, and signed to a contract by the studio. With her raspy voice, sunny disposition and wholesome good looks, she stood apart from other more glamorous actresses yet endeared herself to both women, who identified with her, and men, who saw her as the "perfect wife." Her appeal was epitomized in such films as Little Women, where she played the tomboyish Jo opposite Peter Lawford, and baseball drama The Stratton Story, her first film with James Stewart. Offscreen, Allyson caused concern from her studio bosses when she married Dick Powell, her occasional co-star; the actor had been married twice before and was 13 years her senior, and by most reports their marriage was often tumultuous. In the 50s, Allyson most often played the steadfast wife, most famously opposite previous co-star Stewart in The Glenn Miller Story and Strategic Air Command. Other films during the decade included Executive Suite (with William Holden), The Opposite Sex, The Shrike (a rare unsympathetic role), Interlude, and a remake of My Man Godfrey alongside David Niven. As husband Powell's health began to decline (he died in 1963), Allyson began her retirement from films, and through the 60s worked mainly in television, including her own show, The Dupont Show with June Allyson. Her later career consisted mainly of TV movies and guest star appearances on shows ranging from The Love Boat to The Incredible Hulk, and she underwent another turbulent marriage, to Glenn Maxwell, her former husband's barber. In 1976, she married current husband Ashrow, with whom she traveled extensively. To most recent generations, Allyson was known as the upbeat spokeswoman for Depends undergarments, a role she undertook with aplomb as she helped pioneer research for urological and gynecological diseases in senior citizens. Allyson is survived by her husband and two children, daughter Pamela and son Richard, from her marriage to Powell. --Mark Englehart, IMDb staff

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10 July 2006 | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

June Allyson, the perenially perky actress who played wife, girlfriend and girl-next-door to a long line of leading men in the 40s and 50s, died Saturday at her home in Ojai, California; she was 88. The actress died of pulmonary respiratory failure and acute bronchitis complicated by a long illness, with her husband of 30 years, David Ashrow, at her side. Born Eleanor Geisman in the Bronx, the actress grew up in near-poverty, raised by her divorced mother. After a serious injury at age eight, she spent years confinded in a steel brace, and began both swimming and dancing lessons to increase her mobility. The dancing paid off: in 1938, at age 21, she was cast in the Broadway production Sing Out the News. A prominent role in George Abbott's Best Foot Forward brought her to the attention of Hollywood, and she was later cast by MGM in the 1943 film version, and signed to a contract by the studio. With her raspy voice, sunny disposition and wholesome good looks, she stood apart from other more glamorous actresses yet endeared herself to both women, who identified with her, and men, who saw her as the "perfect wife." Her appeal was epitomized in such films as Little Women (1949), where she played the tomboyish Jo opposite Peter Lawford, and baseball drama The Stratton Story, her first film with James Stewart. Offscreen, Allyson caused concern from her studio bosses when she married Dick Powell, her occasional co-star; the actor had been married twice before and was 13 years her senior, and by most reports their marriage was often tumultuous. In the 50s, Allyson most often played the steadfast wife, most famously opposite previous co-star Stewart in The Glenn Miller Story and Strategic Air Command. Other films during the decade included Executive Suite (with William Holden), The Opposite Sex, The Shrike (a rare unsympathetic role), Interlude, and a remake of My Man Godfrey alongside David Niven. As husband Powell's health began to decline (he died in 1963), Allyson began her retirement from films, and through the 60s worked mainly in television, including her own show, The Dupont Show with June Allyson. Her later career consisted mainly of TV movies and guest star appearances on shows ranging from The Love Boat to The Incredible Hulk, and she underwent another turbulent marriage, to Glenn Maxwell, her former husband's barber. In 1976, she married current husband Ashrow, with whom she traveled extensively. To most recent generations, Allyson was known as the upbeat spokeswoman for Depends undergarments, a role she undertook with aplomb as she helped pioneer research for urological and gynecological diseases in senior citizens. Allyson is survived by her husband and two children, daughter Pamela and son Richard, from her marriage to Powell. --Mark Englehart, IMDb staff

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25 June 2006 | From IMDb News

<N N="0005455">Aaron Spelling</N>, the amazingly prolific television producer whose hits ranged from <T T="0073972">Charlie's Angels</T> to <T T="0115083">7th Heaven</T>, died Friday after suffering a stroke last Sunday; he was 83. Spelling passed away at his Los Angeles home, where he had been resting since his stroke on June 18, for which he was briefly hospitalized. Born in Dallas, Spelling was the fourth son of immigrant Jews and grew up in poverty on the self-proclaimed "wrong side of the tracks," ostracized in his early years because of his religion and orthodox parents. After serving in World War II, he enrolled and later graduated from Southern Methodist University, quickly moving to Hollywood, where he worked briefly as a bit-player actor (he was a gas station attendant in an episode of <T T="0043208">I Love Lucy</T>) and married the actress <N N="0427700">Carolyn Jones</N> (later of <T T="0057729">The Addams Family</T> fame) in 1953; they later divorced in 1964. Spelling found greater success as a writer for such shows as <T T="0048893">Playhouse 90</T>, and soon was hired as a producer by <N N="0694090">Dick Powell</N> for Four Star Productions, and his first hit was the crime drama <T T="0056745">Burke's Law</T>, starring <N N="0058001">Gene Barry</N>. After Powell passed away, Spelling teamed with actor-producer <N N="0858683">Danny Thomas</N>, with whom he scored a major hit in <T T="0062589">The Mod Squad</T> in 1969. <p> At the dawn of the 70s, Spelling signed an exclusive contract with ABC, a network his programming would come to dominate for the next decade; former ABC programming chief <N N="0325252">Leonard Goldberg</N> joined him as a producing partner in 1972. The two produced innumerable television films (including <T T="0074236">The Boy in the Bubble</T>, starring heartthrob <N N="0000237">John Travolta</N>) before striking series gold with action shows <T T="0072560">SWAT</T>, <T T="0072567">Starsky & Hutch</T> and <T T="0068126">The Rookies</T>, as well as the acclaimed Emmy-winning drama <T T="0073992">Family</T>. It was a trio of huge hits, however, that cemented Spelling's fame and success: the Saturday night revolving guest-cast shows <T T="0075529">The Love Boat</T> and <T T="0077008">Fantasy Island</T>, and the phenomenally popular <T T="0073972">Charlie's Angels</T>, which launched the careers of <N N="0000396">Farrah Fawcett</N> and <N N="0000646">Jaclyn Smith</N> (among others) and single-handedly invented "jiggle television," shows featuring beautiful women in revealing clothing. Other shows followed -- <T T="0078622">Hart to Hart</T>, <T T="0085032">Hotel</T>, <T T="0077093">Vega$</T>, and <T T="0083486">TJ Hooker</T> among them -- before Spelling struck gold again in the 80s with <T T="0081856">Dynasty</T>, a pop-culture phenomenon that challenged the popular soap <T T="0077000">Dallas</T> and for one season was the number one show in the country. Oftentimes, his Los Angeles mansion, which he bought in 1983 with second wife <H>Candy Spelling</H> and boasted 123 rooms, a bowling alley, swimming pool, gymnasium, tennis court, screening room and four 2-car garages, was compared to the excesses of <T T="0081856">Dynasty</T>'s fictional denizens. <p> When the quintessential 80s show was cancelled, Spelling found himself for the first time without a series on the air, which he said caused him to fall into a major depression. Nevertheless, after a year Spelling was back, this time with the teen soap <T T="0098749">Beverly Hills 90210</T>, which helped launch the fledgling Fox network as well as his daughter <N N="0001760">Tori Spelling</N>'s acting career, a circumstance she would later affectionately spoof in her own comedy series, <T T="0457600">So NoTORIous</T>. Spinoff <T T="0103491">Melrose Place</T> quickly followed, as well as a number of other California-set series that were less memorable. Still, even into the new century, Spelling found himself with two hits on the WB network: the witchy fantasy <T T="0158552">Charmed</T>, which ended only last season, and religious family drama <T T="0115083">7th Heaven</T>, which after a brief cancellation earlier this year was resurrected by the new CW network for the upcoming fall season. Though derided for his shows' superficiality, Spelling preferred to call his hits "mind candy," and his success and endurability was also marked by acclaimed programming that included the TV films <T T="0082062">The Best Little Girl in the World</T> and the Emmy-winning AIDS drama <T T="0106273">And the Band Played On</T>. Spelling also produced a number of feature films, including <T T="0102951">Soapdish</T>, <T T="0071269">California Split</T>, and <T T="0085970">Mr. Mom</T>. Spelling is survived by his wife Candy, daughter Tori, and son <N N="0005456">Randy Spelling</N>. <I>--Mark Englehart, IMDb staff</I> <br><br>

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24 June 2006 | From IMDb News

<N N="0005455">Aaron Spelling</N>, the amazingly prolific television producer whose hits ranged from <T T="0073972">Charlie's Angels</T> to <T T="0115083">7th Heaven</T>, died Friday after suffering a stroke last Sunday; he was 83. Spelling passed away at his Los Angeles home, where he had been resting since his stroke on June 18, for which he was briefly hospitalized. Born in Dallas, Spelling was the fourth son of immigrant Jews and grew up in poverty on the self-proclaimed "wrong side of the tracks," ostracized in his early years because of his religion and orthodox parents. After serving in World War II, he enrolled and later graduated from Southern Methodist University, quickly moving to Hollywood, where he worked briefly as a bit-player actor (he was a gas station attendant in an episode of <T T="0043208">I Love Lucy</T>) and married the actress <N N="0427700">Carolyn Jones</N> (later of <T T="0057729">The Addams Family</T> fame) in 1953; they later divorced in 1964. Spelling found greater success as a writer for such shows as <T T="0048893">Playhouse 90</T>, and soon was hired as a producer by <N N="0694090">Dick Powell</N> for Four Star Productions, and his first hit was the crime drama <T T="0056745">Burke's Law</T>, starring <N N="0058001">Gene Barry</N>. After Powell passed away, Spelling teamed with actor-producer <N N="0858683">Danny Thomas</N>, with whom he scored a major hit in <T T="0062589">The Mod Squad</T> in 1969. <p> At the dawn of the 70s, Spelling signed an exclusive contract with ABC, a network his programming would come to dominate for the next decade; former ABC programming chief <N N="0325252">Leonard Goldberg</N> joined him as a producing partner in 1972. The two produced innumerable television films (including <T T="0074236">The Boy in the Bubble</T>, starring heartthrob <N N="0000237">John Travolta</N>) before striking series gold with action shows <T T="0072560">SWAT</T>, <T T="0072567">Starsky & Hutch</T> and <T T="0068126">The Rookies</T>, as well as the acclaimed Emmy-winning drama <T T="0073992">Family</T>. It was a trio of huge hits, however, that cemented Spelling's fame and success: the Saturday night revolving guest-cast shows <T T="0075529">The Love Boat</T> and <T T="0077008">Fantasy Island</T>, and the phenomenally popular <T T="0073972">Charlie's Angels</T>, which launched the careers of <N N="0000396">Farrah Fawcett</N> and <N N="0000646">Jaclyn Smith</N> (among others) and single-handedly invented "jiggle television," shows featuring beautiful women in revealing clothing. Other shows followed -- <T T="0078622">Hart to Hart</T>, <T T="0085032">Hotel</T>, <T T="0077093">Vega$</T>, and <T T="0083486">TJ Hooker</T> among them -- before Spelling struck gold again in the 80s with <T T="0081856">Dynasty</T>, a pop-culture phenomenon that challenged the popular soap <T T="0077000">Dallas</T> and for one season was the number one show in the country. Oftentimes, his Los Angeles mansion, which he bought in 1983 with second wife <H>Candy Spelling</H> and boasted 123 rooms, a bowling alley, swimming pool, gymnasium, tennis court, screening room and four 2-car garages, was compared to the excesses of <T T="0081856">Dynasty</T>'s fictional denizens. <p> When the quintessential 80s show was cancelled, Spelling found himself for the first time without a series on the air, which he said caused him to fall into a major depression. Nevertheless, after a year Spelling was back, this time with the teen soap <T T="0098749">Beverly Hills 90210</T>, which helped launch the fledgling Fox network as well as his daughter <N N="0001760">Tori Spelling</N>'s acting career, a circumstance she would later affectionately spoof in her own comedy series, <T T="0457600">So NoTORIous</T>. Spinoff <T T="0103491">Melrose Place</T> quickly followed, as well as a number of other California-set series that were less memorable. Still, even into the new century, Spelling found himself with two hits on the WB network: the witchy fantasy <T T="0158552">Charmed</T>, which ended only last season, and religious family drama <T T="0115083">7th Heaven</T>, which after a brief cancellation earlier this year was resurrected by the new CW network for the upcoming fall season. Though derided for his shows' superficiality, Spelling preferred to call his hits "mind candy," and his success and endurability was also marked by acclaimed programming that included the TV films <T T="0082062">The Best Little Girl in the World</T> and the Emmy-winning AIDS drama <T T="0106273">And the Band Played On</T>. Spelling also produced a number of feature films, including <T T="0102951">Soapdish</T>, <T T="0071269">California Split</T>, and <T T="0085970">Mr. Mom</T>. Spelling is survived by his wife Candy, daughter Tori, and son <N N="0005456">Randy Spelling</N>. <I>--Mark Englehart, IMDb staff</I> <br><br>

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4 articles from 2006