Deaths: January 10
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- Music Artist
- Composer
- Actor
Jeff Beck was born in Surrey in 1944. He grew up in a suburban street in Carshalton. When he was about 10, he wanted to play the guitar. His mum, however, wanted him to play the piano because she didn't approve of the guitar. When he was in his late teens, he joined "The Tridents" on lead guitar. In 1965, he replaced Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds. He played with them until 1967 when he decided he'd had enough and wanted to go solo. In the same year, he released his first solo effort "Hi-Ho-Silver Lining", which was the only one of his tracks he ever sang on. In his backing group, he had Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, who later went on to form The Faces. Thoughout the rest of the 60s and 70s, he continued to record instrumental albums. In 1983, three former The Yardbirds, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, got together to do one-off charity concerts. In 1984, he contributed lead guitar on Mick Jagger's first solo album "She's the Boss". The same year, he released his next album "Flash", which was voted best instrumental album. In 1989, he released the album "Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop", which was also a big success. Throughout the 90s, Jeff Beck still toured around and, in 1998, played a sellout date in Mexico. In early 2001, he released yet another album "You had it Coming", which he toured to promote.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Al Silvani was born on 26 March 1910. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979) and Rocky III (1982). He died on 10 January 1996 in North Hollywood, California, USA.- Andy De Groat was born on 25 November 1947 in Paterson, New Jersey, USA. He died on 10 January 2019 in Montauban, France.
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
Archie Ricks was born on 29 February 1896 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for A Daughter of the Sioux (1925), In Broncho Land (1926) and Where Romance Rides (1925). He was married to Ethel Marion Jones. He died on 10 January 1962 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Stocky, general purpose actor, a prolific face on the small screen during the 1960s and 1970s. Batanides got into acting after performing stand-up routines in front of fellow GI's in Europe during World War II. His training in dramatic art at the Actors Lab in Los Angeles was followed by extensive stage experience. He was more recently noted as "Mr. Kirkland" in four instalments of the popular "Police Academy" franchise but is remembered by older viewers chiefly as the ill-fated U.S.S. Enterprise geologist Lieutenant D'Amato who died rather badly (cellular disruption) in the Star Trek (1966) episode, That Which Survives (1969). Other notable appearances include one of dictator Clemente's (Peter Falk) henchmen in The Twilight Zone (1959) episode, The Mirror (1961); and the Mongol leader "Batu" in The Time Tunnel (1966) episode, Attack of the Barbarians (1967). Batanides regularly played heavies in shows like I Spy (1965) and Mission: Impossible (1966), or spoofed them (for instance, as a KAOS agent in Get Smart (1965)). He retired from acting in 1989.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
The son of a stage manager, Basil Sydney entered the acting profession in 1909. His burgeoning career was interrupted by the outbreak of World War I, during which he saw action with the Norfolk Regiment in the British Army. In the early 1920's, Basil established himself as a matinée idol on the London stage. His film debut, however, took place on the other side of the Atlantic in the silent feature Romance (1920), based on a play by Edward Sheldon. His co-star was the prominent American Broadway star Doris Keane, with whom he had appeared in the theatrical performance of the play five years prior and subsequently married. Basil was rapidly promoted through a starring role in his second screen outing, the comedy Red Hot Romance (1922), but decided to turn down the offer of a lucrative Hollywood contract. His single-minded insistence on being cast exclusively in roles based on works by Shakespeare or Shaw led him to New York and back to the theatre. He spent the remainder of the decade as a leading player on Broadway, playing the parts he craved and duly receiving critical plaudits for his Mercutio of "Romeo and Juliet" (1922-23) and for his leads as Hamlet (1925-26) and Petruchio in "The Taming of the Shrew" (1927-28).
Basil did not return to films until 1932, back in Britain and henceforth as a burly character actor, albeit of never less than commanding presence. His stock-in-trade were shifty opportunists, public servants, domineering fathers or military types. He alternated smoothly between charming or dependable and menacing or sinister. Generally typed as a quintessential Englishman, his casting as a German infiltrator in the wartime drama Went the Day Well? (1942), lent additional gravitas to the warning against complacency. Otherwise, he stood out as Caesar's military aide-de-camp Rufio in the decidedly stodgy screen adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra (1945); as the brutish squire Nick Helmar in the period Gainsborough melodrama Jassy (1947); as the indefatigable Captain Smollett battling the pirates of Treasure Island (1950) and as Waldemar Fitzurse, advisor to the devious Prince John (played by Guy Rolfe) in MGM's excellent Technicolor swashbuckler Ivanhoe (1952).- Director
- Writer
- Art Department
Benita Raphan was born on 5 November 1962 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. She was a director and writer, known for Great Genius and Profound Stupidity (2008), 2+2 (2002) and Absence Stronger Than Presence (1996). She died in January 2021 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.- Betty Lou Holland was born on 26 December 1925 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Johnny Belinda (1958), The Goddess (1958) and The Man in the Net (1959). She died on 10 January 2021 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Brice Armstrong was a small-time Texas actor who grew up in the city of Dallas. He didn't get his big breakthrough until he became a voice actor for Funimation when they first started on their own English version for Dragon Ball Z & Dragon Ball. For one decade Brice has provided voice work for several Funimation anime and most of the Dragon Ball video games. He became best known to anime fans as the English voice of Captain Ginyu & Tim Marcoh. Which were the most popular characters he had voiced throughout his career. Sometime in 2009, Brice retired from acting.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Singer, composer songwriter, and pianist who conducted his own trio from 1944 to 1949 and thereafter performed with, and arranged for, the Benny Goodman orchestra into 1952. He sang in theatres and night clubs, and made many records. Joining ASCAP in 1957, his popular-song compositions include "Make Up Your Mind," "El Greco," "Just Walk Away," and "Stay Warm."- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Production Manager
Carlo Ponti was born on 11 December 1912 in Magenta, Lombardy, Italy. He was a producer and production manager, known for Doctor Zhivago (1965), The Road (1954) and Marriage Italian Style (1964). He was married to Sophia Loren and Giuliana Fiastri. He died on 10 January 2007 in Geneva, Switzerland.- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Christian Görlitz was born in 1944 in Hamburg, Germany. He was a director and writer, known for Freier Fall (1997), Fleisch ist mein Gemüse (2008) and Ein Job (2008). He died on 10 January 2022 in Hamburg, Germany.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Ciro Durán was born on 10 December 1937 in Convención, Norte de Santander, Colombia. He was a director and writer, known for La toma de la embajada (2000), La nave de los sueños (1996) and Gamín (1977). He died on 10 January 2022.- Clare Hollingworth was born on 10 October 1911 in Knighton, Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK. She was married to Geoffrey Hoare and Vandeleur Robinson. She died on 10 January 2017 in Hong Kong, China.
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Director
Claude Nobs was born on 8 February 1936 in Montreux, Switzerland. He was a producer and director, known for Talk Talk: Live at Montreux 1986 (2008), Rory Gallagher: Live at Montreux (2006) and Carlos Santana: Presents Blues at Montreux 2004 (2006). He died on 10 January 2013 in Lausanne, Switzerland.- Costume Designer
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Coco Chanel was born on 19 August 1883 in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France. She was a costume designer, known for The Rules of the Game (1939), Tonight or Never (1931) and The Greeks Had a Word for Them (1932). She died on 10 January 1971 in Paris, France.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
David Bowie was one of the most influential and prolific writers and performers of popular music, but he was much more than that; he was also an accomplished actor, a mime and an intellectual, as well as an art lover whose appreciation and knowledge of it had led to him amassing one of the biggest collections of 20th century art.
Born David Jones, he changed his name to Bowie in the 1960s, to avoid confusion with the then well-known Davy Jones (lead singer of The Monkees). The 1960s were not a happy period for Bowie, who remained a struggling artist, awaiting his breakthrough. He dabbled in many different styles of music (without commercial success), and other art forms such as acting, mime, painting, and play-writing. He finally achieved his commercial breakthrough in 1969 with the song "Space Oddity", which was released at the time of the moon landing. Despite the fact that the literal meaning of the lyrics relates to an astronaut who is lost in space, this song was used by the BBC in their coverage of the moon landing, and this helped it become such a success. The album, which followed "Space Oddity", and the two, which followed (one of which included the song "The Man Who Sold The World", covered by Lulu and Nirvana) failed to produce another hit single, and Bowie's career appeared to be in decline.
However, he made the first of many successful "comebacks" in 1972 with "Ziggy Stardust", a concept album about a space-age rock star. This album was followed by others in a similar vein, rock albums built around a central character and concerned with futuristic themes of Armageddon, gender dysfunction/confusion, as well as more contemporary themes such as the destructiveness of success and fame, and the dangers inherent in star worship. In the mid-1970s, Bowie was a heavy cocaine abuser and sometime heroin user.
In 1975, he changed tack. Musically, he released "Young Americans", a soul (or plastic soul as he later referred to it) album. This produced his first number one hit in the US, "Fame". He also appeared in his first major film, The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). With a permanently-dilated pupil and skeletal frame, he certainly looked the part of an alien. The following year, he released "Station to Station," containing some of the material he had written for the soundtrack to this film (which was not used). As his drug problem heightened, his behavior became more erratic. Reports of his insanity started to appear, and he continued to waste away physically. He fled back to Europe, finally settling in Berlin, where he changed musical direction again and recorded three of the most influential albums of all time, an electronic trilogy with Brian Eno "Low, Heroes and Lodger". Towards the end of the 1970s, he finally kicked his drug habit, and recorded the album many of his fans consider his best, the Japanese-influenced "Scary Monsters". Around this time, he appeared in the title role of the Broadway drama The Elephant Man, and to considerable acclaim.
The next few years saw something of a drop-off in his musical output as his acting career flourished, culminating in his acclaimed performance in Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983). In 1983, he released "Let's Dance," an album which proved an unexpected massive commercial success, and produced his second #1 hit single in the United States. According to producer Nile Rodgers, the album was made in just 17 days and was "the easiest album" he'd ever made in his life. The tour which followed, "Serious Moonlight", was his most successful ever. Faced with this success on a massive scale, Bowie apparently attempted to "repeat the formula" in the next two albums, with less success (and to critical scorn). Finally, in the late 1980s, he turned his back on commercial success and his solo career, forming the hard rock band, Tin Machine, who had a deliberate limited appeal. By now, his acting career was in decline. After the comparative failure of Labyrinth (1986), the movie industry appears to have decided that Bowie was not a sufficient name to be a lead actor in a major movie, and since that date, most of his roles have been cameos or glorified cameos. Tin Machine toured extensively and released two albums, with little critical or commercial success.
In 1992, Bowie again changed direction and re-launched his solo career with "Black Tie White Noise", a wedding album inspired by his recent marriage to Iman. He released three albums to considerable critical acclaim and reasonable commercial success. In 1995, he renewed his working relationship with Brian Eno to record "Outside." After an initial hostile reaction from the critics, this album has now taken its place with his classic albums. In 2003, Bowie released an album entitled 'Reality.' The Reality Tour began in November 2003 and, after great commercial success, was extended into July 2004. In June 2004, Bowie suffered a heart attack and the tour did not finish its scheduled run.
After recovering, Bowie gave what turned out to be his final live performance in a three-song set with Alicia Keys at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York in November 2006. He also returned to acting. He played Tesla in The Prestige (2006) and had a small cameo in the comedy David Bowie (2006) for fan Ricky Gervais. In 2007, he did a cartoon voice in SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) playing Lord Royal Highness. He had a brief cameo in the movie ''Bandslam'' released in 2009; after a ten year hiatus from recording, he released a new album called 'The Next Day', featuring a homage cover to his earlier work ''Heroes''. The music video of ''Stars are Out Tonight'' premiered on 25 February 2013. It consists of other songs like ''Where Are We Now?", "Valentine's Day", "Love is Lost", "The Next Day", etc.
In 2014, Bowie won British Male Solo Artist at the 2014 Brit Awards, 30 years since last winning it, and became the oldest ever Brit winner. Bowie wrote and recorded the opening title song to the television miniseries The Last Panthers (2015), which aired in November 2015. The theme used for The Last Panthers (2015) was also the title track for his January 2016 release, ''Blackstar" (released on 8 January 2016, Bowie's 69th birthday) was met with critical acclaim. Following Bowie's death two days later, on 10 January 2016, producer Tony Visconti revealed Bowie had planned the album to be his swan song, and a "parting gift" for his fans before his death. An EP, No Plan, was released on 8 January 2017, which would have been Bowie's 70th birthday. The day following his death, online viewing of Bowie's music skyrocketed, breaking the record for Vevo's most viewed artist in a single day.
On 15 January, "Blackstar" debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart; nineteen of his albums were in the UK Top 100 Albums Chart, and thirteen singles were in the UK Top 100 Singles Chart. The song also debuted at #1 on album charts around the world, including Australia, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the US Billboard 200. At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, Bowie won all five nominated awards: Best Rock Performance; Best Alternative Music Album; Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical; Best Recording Package; and Best Rock Song. The wins marked Bowie's first ever in musical categories. David Bowie influenced the course of popular music several times and had an effect on several generations of musicians.- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Additional Crew
David Fisher was a very experienced television writer who wrote many scripts for popular series. He is perhaps best known today for his work on Doctor Who (1963), for which he wrote five stories during the Tom Baker years. In later years he collaborated with former Doctor Who (1963) script editor Anthony Read on a number of historical books dealing with subjects including World War Two espionage, the Nazi persecution of the Jews and the Nazi/Soviet pact of the early 1940s. He lived with his second wife in a 16th-century house in Suffolk.- David S. Howard was born on 10 September 1928 in Mount Kisco, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Deconstructing Harry (1997) and Moonstruck (1987). He was married to Anne. He died on 10 January 2023 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
David Stypka was born on 21 July 1979 in Frýdek-Místek, Czechoslovakia. He was an actor and composer, known for Over Fingers (2019), David Stypka, Ewa Farná: Dobré ráno, milá (2017) and David Stypka & Bandjeez: Kríz (2018). He died on 10 January 2021.- Dianne Oxberry was born on 13 August 1967 in Sunderland, Tyne & Wear, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Grow Your Own (2007), Sunshine (2008) and No Limits (1985). She was married to Ian Hindle. She died on 10 January 2019 in Manchester, England, UK.
- Doreen Tracey was born on 3 April 1943 in St Pancras, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Westward Ho, the Wagons! (1956), Annette (1958) and The Donna Reed Show (1958). She was married to Robert A Washburn. She died on 10 January 2018 in Thousand Oaks, California, USA.
- Edilú Martínez was born on 22 May 1964 in Caracas, Venezuela. She died on 10 January 2020 in Caracas, Venezuela.
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Eric Yellin was born on September 8, 1966 in Los Angles, California. He was a hugely successful assistant director, known for numerous TV series including; Sneaky Pete (2018), The Following (2015) and Royal Pains (2013) as well as many well known feature films such as; Fair Game, 27 Dresses and The Squid in the Whale. He leaves behind his wife, two children and many friends and family. He died after a long battle with cancer on January 10, 2022 in Newport Beach, California.- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Fast Eddie Clarke was born on 5 October 1950 in Twickenham, London, England, UK. He was an actor and composer, known for Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Smokin' Aces (2006) and Shoot 'Em Up (2007). He died on 10 January 2018 in London, England.- Writer
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
His father was a shipowner. After school, Rosi initially began studying law, which he soon dropped out to work as a broadcast journalist and book illustrator in Naples. From 1944 to 1945 he worked for "Radio Napoli". In the immediate post-war years, Rosi moved to Rome, where he came into contact with the film world. He initially acted as an assistant to several directors and thus played a key role in the development of Italian "Neorealismo". From 1947 to 1948, Rosi assisted Luchino Visconti in the filming of the masterpiece of neorealism "La terra trema". In addition to working on other Visconti films, he also studied with Michelangelo Antonioni. In 1957 Rosi celebrated his directorial debut with "La sfida".
The success led to a long series of films in the following decades, some of which courageously dealt with unpleasant and critical topics in Italian post-war society. Rosi's films such as "Le mani sulla città" (1963), "Cadaveri eccellenti" (1976) and "Cristo si è fermato a Eboli" (1979) are dedicated to the ruthless analysis of events in contemporary Italian history and the present. The director bluntly denounces the grievances resulting from war, crime and corruption as social processes that are tolerated, accepted or even intended by political power. With the film adaptation of the opera "Carmen" (1984) and the novel by Gabriel García Márquez "Cronaca di una morte annunciata" (1987), Rosi approached emotional productions, abandoning his previous materialistic analysis.
However, both films remain connected to the basic theme of Rosi's work, the Italian South, which the director deepened again through the pessimistic study of the global character of the Italian-American mafia in "Dimenticare Palermo" (1989). Rosi received numerous awards for his work. His directorial debut won an award in Venice in 1958. In 1962 he was awarded the Berlin Silver Bear for the film about "Salvatore Giuliano". In 2000 he received the "Grand Prix des Amériques" in Montreal for his life's work.
Francesco Rosi is married to Giancarla Rosi Mandelli and lives in Rome.- Actor
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- Composer
The greater one of the brothers of trio made up of Fofo and Miliki. In the group, he interpret the role of "serious" clown, ordered to moderate the attitudes of its brothers and nephews. Excellent executor of saxofon soprano, also executed skillfully marimba and other instruments. After the conclusion of "El loco mundo de los payasos", he dedicated himself to his to his children, such as Los Gabytos. He died in January of 1995 by a complication of his diabetes.- Gabriela Mistral was born on 7 April 1889 in Vicuña, Chile. She was an actress and writer, known for Sebastián y su amigo el artista (1971) and Time of the Angels (1987). She died on 10 January 1957 in Hempstead, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
This balding, impeccably well-spoken London-born character actor made his name on the Shakespearean stage well before becoming a known quantity on television. Gary was the son of Austrian-Jewish émigrés Siegfried Waldhorn and his wife Liselotte (née Popper). As a youngster, he became enamoured with acting after seeing Richard Burton on stage as Henry V at the Old Vic. After graduating from the Yale School of Drama in 1967, Waldhorn made his theatrical debut as an extra in a National Theatre production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. For several years after, he served his apprenticeship as a small part supporting player. By the early 70s, Waldhorn had established himself as a serious actor, headlining as Milo Tindle in Sleuth (the part played by Michael Caine in the classic film version) at the West End. In 1972, he took the play on the road through Australia and New Zealand, along with Richard Todd, who essayed the role of mystery novelist Andrew Wyke. As a Shakespearean actor, Waldhorn later frequently performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Over the years, his roles have included Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing, a highly acclaimed title role of Henry V (at the Old Vic, 1996-97) and the King of France in All's Well that Ends Well.
On screen from 1969, Waldhorn appeared in a variety of TV shows, his credits including perennial murder suspect William H. Druitt in the miniseries Jack the Ripper (1973), the diplomat and advisor Marquis de Caulaincourt in Napoleon and Love (1974), Conservative politician Henry 'Chips' Channon in Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1978), as well as recurring roles in the comedies All at Number 20 (1986) and Brush Strokes (1986). He also guested (usually as establishment figures) in diverse genre series, ranging from Space: 1999 (1975) to Robin Hood (1984) and from Rumpole of the Bailey (1978) to Lovejoy (1986) and Heartbeat (1992). In the final analysis, Gary Waldhorn will be most fondly remembered as David Horton, the conservative, wealthy, often starchy chairman of the parish council in the ever-popular sitcom The Vicar of Dibley (1994).
From April 1967 until his passing on January 10 2022, Waldhorn was married to Christie Dickason, playwright, poet, theatre director/choreographer, librettist and author of (to date) nine novels.- George Dickerson was born on 25 July 1933 in Topeka, Kansas, USA. He was an actor, known for Blue Velvet (1986), Death Warrant (1990) and After Dark, My Sweet (1990). He was married to Suzanne Hartman and Victoria Chess. He died on 10 January 2015 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA.
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Georges Pernoud was born on 11 August 1947 in Rabat, French Protectorate in Morocco [now Morocco]. He was a producer and writer, known for Thalassa, le magazine de la mer (1975), Zubrowka: Ou La Légende De L'herbe De Bison (1992) and Górnicy (1992). He was married to Monique . He died on 10 January 2021 in Plaisir, Yvelines, France.- Actor
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He grew up with his grandmother in the Bavarian Forest. When he graduated from high school in Cham in 1960, he was adopted by his biological father, to whom his mother, a swimming athlete, was never married. From then on he used the name Achternbusch. After briefly studying at the Munich-Pasing University of Education, Achternbusch moved to the Nuremberg Art Academy in 1961. Then he also studied at the Munich Art Academy. In 1962 Achternbusch married an art teacher. In the following years he made ends meet with odd jobs. He also painted a lot. The couple initially lived in Munich, then in Starnberg, Gauting and, from 1975, in Buchendorf. Achternbusch presented his first publications in the mid-1960s: they were poems and etchings. In 1969 his first book was published under the title "Hülle".
At the beginning of the 1970s, Achternbusch's artistic interest shifted to film. He started making small films. In the 1973/74 film "Overnight in Tirol" by Volker Schlöndorff he played the role of the teacher. In 1974 Achternbusch presented the script for his first film, which was released in cinemas under the title "The Andechser Feeling". The artist made this and the subsequent films himself as a screenwriter, director, leading actor and producer. Achternbusch's films are idiosyncratic works of a high artistic level. They are based on his bizarre prose texts, which he usually has amateur actors interpret in a comical way. The director's home region is discussed in a kind of love-hate relationship with Bavaria, with autobiographical themes also playing a role. Achternbusch gained national fame as a provocative director who liked to break social taboos.
In 1977 he rejected the Petrarch Prize that was intended for him. His films were sometimes subject to censorship measures when they were broadcast on television. The then Bavarian Federal Minister of the Interior refused funding for "The Ghost" (1982). The blasphemy accusations against the film caused a scandal in the Federal Republic of Germany's film world. In addition to his films, Achternbusch also produces plays that he directs himself.- Hernán Rivera Letelier was born on 11 July 1950 in Talca, Chile. He is a writer, known for The Last Game (2021), Mirage of Love (2015) and The Movie Teller (2023).
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Howard Smith was born on 12 August 1893 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Death of a Salesman (1951), Kiss of Death (1947) and Don't Go Near the Water (1957). He was married to Mildred A. Barker and Lillian Boardman. He died on 10 January 1968 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Hubert Auriol was born on 7 June 1952 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He was married to Caroline. He died on 10 January 2021 in Garches, Ile-de-France, Saint-Cloud, France.
- Ivann Gomes was born on 17 April 1960 in Serra Talhada, Pernambuco, Brazil. He was an actor, known for Lucicreide Goes to Mars (2021), A Praça é Nossa (1987) and Velho Chico (2016). He died on 10 January 2022 in Pirituba, São Paulo, Brazil.
- Actor
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- Soundtrack
Short, stocky Jacques Marin was a wonderfully droll character actor, who tended to pop up in international films of the 60's and 70's, whenever a typically French-looking gendarme, police inspector, concierge or shopkeeper was needed. His trademark was a toothbrush moustache and a deadpan expression -- except for a perpetually reproving frown -- which suggested deeper thought processes were going on. Despite all his overt seriousness, his characters were usually amusing, or, at least, likeable. A fluent English-speaker, he effortlessly alternated between French and English-language productions, beginning with The Vintage (1957). He is also fondly remembered as the ineffectual Inspector Grandpierre in Charade (1963), as Major Duvalle in Darling Lili (1970), and as Massenet, one of the potential culinary victims in Ted Kotcheff's black comedy Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978). While the majority of Marin's prolific career consisted of little more than small supporting roles and cameos, his was one of the faces you'd remember at the end of the film.
Marin had studied acting at the Conservatoire national superieur d'art dramatique de Paris and made his feature debut in the war drama Forbidden Games (1952). He often appeared alongside Jean Gabin and was a frequent performer on stage at the Theatre Marigny and the Celestins Theatre in Lyon. Over the decades, he provided many a memorable moment in French film, including in Les tricheurs (1958), Love Is My Profession (1958), Fantomas Unleashed (1965) and in Trois hommes sur un cheval (1969).- James Follett was born in 1939. He is a writer, known for Blake's 7 (1978), The Squad (1980) and Crown Court (1972).
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John Dye was born on 31 January 1963 in Amory, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Tour of Duty (1987), Touched by an Angel (1994) and Jack's Place (1992). He died on 10 January 2011 in San Francisco, California, USA.- Director
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Tall, dignified-looking Newland began in show business as a song-and-dance man with a vaudeville troupe ('The Vikings'), whose trade-mark was wearing gold capes. He acted in stock with the Stuart Walker Company, then found work on the New York stage in tandem with Milton Berle at the Roxy, Capitol and Loew's State Theatres. He also acted in radio and resumed touring nationally on the vaudeville circuit, as well as performing on the legitimate stage in such respected plays as "The Petrified Forest". After wartime service in the Army Air Corps, Newland embarked on a short film career under contract to Warner Brothers, which -- by his own account -- was an 'immediate failure'.
He instead turned his hand to directing early television and became best known for his paranormal anthology series One Step Beyond (1959), which he also hosted in his distinctively mellifluous voice and deadpan fashion. This was a good (though rather less well-known) contemporary of The Twilight Zone (1959). It was shot on the MGM lot with full access to the studio's wardrobe department and with a respectable budget of $30,000 to $50,000 per episode. In addition to high production values, the series consistently boasted good actors, including a young Warren Beatty, William Shatner and Suzanne Pleshette. An attempt to resurrect the franchise (The Next Step Beyond (1978)) nearly twenty years later with the same production team failed to re-ignite public interest.
Though he considered his work on 'One Step Beyond' as the highlight of his career, Newland continued to be in demand for many more years as a busy television director in a variety of other genres: from soap opera (Peyton Place (1964)), to espionage (The Man Who Never Was (1966)); from westerns (Daniel Boone (1964)) to cop shows (Police Woman (1974)). Until the mid-70's, his sonorous voice also continued to resound on radio's CBS Mystery Theater.- Jorgelina Aranda was born on 19 August 1942 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was an actress, known for The Beach of Love (1980), Basta de mujeres (1977) and Shared Department (1980). She was married to Eduardo Celasco. She died on 10 January 2015 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Joyce Eliason was born on 14 May 1934 in Manti, Utah, USA. She was a writer and producer, known for Mulholland Drive (2001), The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992) and The Last Don (1997). She was married to Stuart Margolin and Allan Dotson. She died on 10 January 2022 in the USA.- Actress
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Julie Strain was born in Concord, California, as Julie Ann Strain. She was an actress, known for Sex Court, (1998), Heavy Metal 2000 (2000) and Double Impact (1991), and Battle Queen 2020. She grew up in Pleasant Hill California and graduated from Diablo Valley College, in that town. Appeared in over 100 movies, was one of the tallest actresses in Hollywood, and performed all her own stunts. Julie was crowned the Queen of the B-movies.- Actress
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Juliet Berto was born on 16 January 1947 in Grenoble, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France. She was an actress and writer, known for Neige (1981), Duelle (1976) and Cap Canaille (1983). She was married to Michel Berto. She died on 10 January 1990 in Breux-Jouy, Essonne, France.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Katherine (also called Katharine) Alexander, an excellent character actress, had been born in 1897 to a mother who was part Cherokee and to a father who farmed land on Indian territory. And yet she was never given the part of a native American in the course of her thirty-five-year acting career. Often a society lady, at times a suffering wife or a dignified mother, she was nearly always all-American. At ease in the register of drama and tragedy as well as in that of comedy, Katherine Alexander was a talented and versatile performer who alternated theater and cinema throughout a highly respectable career. An artist she was bound to be but rather a concert one than a thespian. Her mother, a frustrated musician herself, had indeed seen to it that she receive a formal musical education and young Katherine proved gifted at the violin. And she was indeed giving a violin recital when producer Samuel Goldwyn, who needed an actress who could play the violin for a play he was producing, noticed the young lady and hired her for the role. Miss Alexander, who had not yet turned twenty, realized that she much preferred acting to music playing and that was the beginning of a fruitful career on stage first and alternately on the boards and on the big screen as soon as the cinema started talking. A leading lady on Broadway (where she delivered the lines of such distinguished playwrights as Arthur Schnitzler, Robert E. Sherwood or Philip Barry),she was soon seen as an indispensable supporting actress in Hollywood movies. She was always reliable and competent and did not pale by the side of great stars like Greta Garbo (the wife of Garbo's lover in The Painted Veil (1934)), Bette Davis (the wife of a lawyer in love with Davis in That Certain Woman (1937) ; Miss Trask in Now, Voyager (1942)), Cary Grant (Mrs. Morton in In Name Only (1939)) or John Barrymore (Miss Billow in The Great Man Votes (1939). Katherine Alexander's shining hour came in 1949, two years before she retired, when she embodied Linda Loman, the no-nonsense wife of pathetic salesman Paul Muni in the London production of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman". After such a triumph, she decided to give up her career and for thirty years on, she enjoyed a happy second life until her death in early 1981.- Actor
- Producer
Kevin Fret was born on 11 June 1993 in Puerto Rico. He was an actor and producer, known for Kevin Fret: Soy asi (2018). He died on 10 January 2019 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.- Leonardo Satragno was born in 1964 in Argentina. He died on 10 January 2019 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Leopold Ahlsen was born on 12 January 1927 in Munich, Germany. He was a writer, known for Des Christoffel von Grimmelshausen abenteuerlicher Simplicissimus (1975), The Woman from Sarajevo (1980) and ...und nichts als die Wahrheit (1958). He was married to Ruth Gehwald. He died on 10 January 2018 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.
- Lies Lefever died on 10 January 2018 in Asse, Flanders, Belgium.
- Lila Kaye was born on 7 November 1929 in Middlesex, England, UK. She was an actress, known for An American Werewolf in London (1981), The Invisible Man (1984) and See No Evil (1971). She died on 10 January 2012 in England, UK.
- Lorrie Hull was born on 5 August 1928 in West Bend, Iowa, USA. Lorrie was married to William Smithers and John Calkins Hull. Lorrie died on 10 January 2022 in Santa Monica, California, USA.
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
The original glamour ghoul herself, "Vampira", of late night 1950s television, was actually born Maila Syrjäniemi (later changed to the easier surname Nurmi) on December 11, 1922 in Gloucester, Massachusetts (not Finland as she often claimed). Her uncle was the multiple Olympic medal runner Paavo Nurmi.
It was director Howard Hawks, of all people, who discovered Maila while she was performing in Mike Todd's Grand Guignol midnight show "Spook Scandals". Hawks escorted the lovely blonde beauty to Hollywood with the hopes of grooming her into the next Lauren Bacall. Cast in the film version of the Russian novel "Dreadful Hollow", the project was put on hold so many times that Maila walked out of her contract in frustration. She became a cheesecake model and an Earl Carroll dancer for several years in his revues, sharing a chorus line at one time with future burlesque stripper Lili St. Cyr.
Married at the time to child actor-turned-screenwriter Dean Riesner, she came up with the idea of "Vampira" at a masquerade contest where she based her costume on Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons. Heavily painted up with long fingernails, a mane of raven-colored hair, and slim-waisted black attire, the Morticia gimmick won the best costume award that night... and more. She caught the attention of local television and was placed under contract to Channel 7 in Hollywood to see if she could encourage late night viewers to stay up and watch its regular programming of cheapjack horror schlock. The macabre madam was a genuine hit (for one season, at least, in 1954-55), adding a sexy nuance and silly double entendres to her campy horror set.
She earned an Emmy Award nomination in 1954 for "Most Outstanding Female Personality". Fan clubs sprouted up all over the world. She appeared in "Life", "TV Guide" and "Newsweek" magazine articles, and could be seen around and about town and in Las Vegas judging contests and making variety special appearances. Songs were written about the "Queen of Horror". She even appeared with arms outstretched and ghoulishly attired in the worst cinematic failure of all time, Edward D. Wood Jr.'s Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), as Bela Lugosi's zombie-like mate, for which she is infamously associated. Lugosi actually was a huge fan of hers and had always wanted to work with her. Wood shot some footage of her years later as a tribute to Lugosi (he died in 1956 during filming) and added it before the film's release.
By the late 1950s, Maila's extended "15 minutes" of fame was over. With her career at stake (pun intended), she stretched things out with haphazard appearances in abysmal movies [The Beat Generation (1959); Sex Kittens Go to College (1960)] before closing the lid permanently on "Vampira". In later years, Maila divorced her writer/husband and became passionately involved in animal protection rights. A painter on the sly, she created some "Vampira" portraits that became a collector's item. Living very modestly in Southern California, she appeared in a small gag cameo in the film I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998). Malia Nurmi died at age 85 of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2008.- Make-Up Department
- Special Effects
- Additional Crew
Manlio Rocchetti was born on 28 November 1943 in Rome, Italy. He is known for Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Shutter Island (2010) and Gangs of New York (2002). He died on 10 January 2017 in Florida, USA.- Marc Morgan was born on 30 April 1962 in Huy, Belgium. He died on 10 January 2020 in Huy, Belgium.
- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Margaret Whiting was the daughter of Richard A. Whiting, himself a successful songwriter and author of "On The Good Ship Lollipop", "The Japanese Sandman" and "Ain't We Got Fun?" and the sister of actress/singer Barbara Whiting.
Born July 22,1924 in Detroit, she began singing as a small child and, by the age of seven, signed with Johnny Mercer, the popular songwriter and founder of Capitol Records, for whom her father worked. She was a popular vocalist in the 1940s and 1950s, recording dozens of hits for Capitol Records, launched by her father and two partners. She was the first artist to be engaged by the label, where she began recording in 1942. She served as President of the Johnny Mercer Foundation, and she continued her work as a performer of Mercer songs. In the early 1940s, her hits included "That Old Black Magic" (with Freddie Slack), "Moonlight in Vermont" (with Billy Butterfield) and "It Might As Well Be Spring" (with Paul Weston). Between 1946-54, she had more than 40 solo hit tunes for Capitol. After stints with Dot Records and Verve Records and, a brief return to Capitol in the late 1950s and the early 1960s, she recorded for the London label beginning in 1966.
In the late 1990s, she appeared in the Broadway musical "Dream" (1997) and in the PBS broadcast The Songs of Johnny Mercer: Too Marvelous for Words (1997). Under her own name in late 1945, she recorded the Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein II composition "All Through The Day", which became a bestseller in the spring of 1946, and "In Love In Vain", both of which were featured in the film Centennial Summer (1946). She also had hits with songs from the Broadway musicals "St. Louis Woman" and "Call Me Mister" in 1946. Those first recordings under her name were made in New York. In late 1946, she returned to California and began recording there, with Jerry and His Orchestra--"Guilty" and "Oh, But I Do" were the best-selling results of that session. Her hit streak continued in 1948-49.
Due to a musician's strike in the US, orchestral tracks were recorded outside of the country and vocals added in US studios. Whiting supplied vocals to tracks cut by 'Frank DeVol' (q) and His Orchestra, including "A Tree In The Meadow", a #1 hit in the summer of 1948, recorded in London. Her next #1 song occurred in 1949 with "Slipping Around", one of a series of duet recordings made with country/western singer and cowboy star Jimmy Wakely. Also during that year, Whiting recorded a duet with Mercer, "Baby, It's Cold Outside". In 1950, she had a hit with "Blind Date", a novelty record made with Bob Hope and Billy May and His Orchestra.
Whiting continued recording for Capitol into the mid-1950s, until her run of hits dried up. She left the company in 1958 for Dot Records but achieved only one hit there. She switched to Verve Records in 1960 and recorded a number of albums, including one with jazz vocalist Mel Tormé. A brief return to Capitol was followed by a hiatus, after which Whiting signed with London Records in 1966, where she recorded her last two charting pop singles. Her recordings continued to appear on the easy listening charts into the 1970s. Whiting was still recording in the early 1990s and performing in cabaret and concerts. She died on January 10, 2011 (aged 86) in Englewood, New Jersey.- Music Department
- Writer
- Composer
María Elena Walsh was born on 1 February 1930 in Ramos Mejía, La Matanza, Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was a writer and composer, known for Juguemos en el mundo (1971), Necesito una madre (1966) and Tiempo de crear (1962). She died on 10 January 2011 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Mario Grasso was born on 13 October 1938 in Pozo del Molle, Córdoba, Argentina. He died on 10 January 1999 in La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Marion Brasch was born on 27 March 1931 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (1950), Man Against Crime (1949) and Search for Tomorrow (1951). She died on 10 January 2022 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Marion Hutton was born on 10 March 1919 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA. She was an actress, known for Love Happy (1949), In Society (1944) and Babes on Swing Street (1944). She was married to Vic Schoen, Jack Douglas and Jack Philbin. She died on 10 January 1987 in Kirkland, Washington, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Excellent British character actor who played in the theater from 1939 to 1986 ("French Without Tears", "Othello" [as "the Moor", a role he had already played at the age of seventeen in a school production], "She Stoops to Conquer", "Jeeves"...) and also appeared in scores of movies, TV movies and TV series. Often cast as aristocratic types, he is best remembered for his role as "Pistol" in Orson Welles's Chimes at Midnight (1965). On TV, among many others, he starred as P.G. Wodehouse's famous valet "Jeeves" in Thank You, P.G. Wodehouse (1981), co-starred with Robin Bailey in the mini-series Charters & Caldicott (1985) and was a picturesque "Professor Digory Kirke" in the television version of The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (1988).- Michael Galeota was born on 28 August 1984 in Smithtown, Long Island, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Bailey Kipper's P.O.V. (1996), The Jersey (1999) and Clubhouse Detectives (1997). He died on 10 January 2016 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Michael Greene was born on 4 November 1933 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), *batteries not included (1987) and Lord of the Flies (1990). He was married to Patricia Donovan. He died on 10 January 2020 in Haiku, Hawaii, USA.- Michèle Perello was born on 28 December 1942 in Marseille, France. She was an actress. She died on 10 January 2004 in Paris, France.
- Mikhail Derzhavin was born on 15 June 1936 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. He was an actor, known for Troe v lodke, ne schitaya sobaki (1979), Nochnoy vizit (1998) and Oni byli pervymi (1956). He was married to Roksana Babayan, Nina Budyonnaya and Ekaterina Raykina. He died on 10 January 2018 in Odintsovo, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
- Neda Arneric was born on 15 July 1953 in Knjazevac, Serbia, Yugoslavia. She was an actress, known for Stand Up Straight, Delfina (1977), Aloa: Festivity of the Whores (1988) and Shaft in Africa (1973). She was married to Milorad Mesterovic, Dejan Karaklajic and Rade Markovic. She died on 10 January 2020 in Belgrade, Serbia.
- Novello Novelli was born on 2 March 1930 in Poggibonsi, Tuscany, Italy. He was an actor, known for Una vita in gioco (2012), Tutta colpa del paradiso (1985) and Noce di cocco (1995). He died on 10 January 2018 in Poggibonsi, Tuscany, Italy.
- Actor
Oscar Blank was born on 11 March 1898 in Romania. He was an actor. He died on 10 January 1965 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Pala Thankam was born on 26 February 1941 in India. She was an actress, known for Jaithra Yaathra (1987), Maravil Thirivu Sookshikkuka (1972) and Abhinayam (1981). She was married to Sreedharan Thampi. She died on 10 January 2021 in Pathanapuram, Kerala, India.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
The son of a regimental sergeant major, Albert Patrick Jordan grew up in London where he debuted on stage in a 1946 Old Vic production of "Richard II" at the New Theatre. The ensemble cast comprised actors Harry Andrews, Rosalind Atkinson and Alec Guinness. The same group of players went on to perform in other Shakespearean plays, including "Coriolanus" and "The Taming of the Shrew". Jordan began on screen in a TV adaptation of The Browning Version (1949), reprising his stage role from earlier that year. Most of his celluloid assignments in the 50s and 60s consisted of small or uncredited parts. His distinctively stern features and no-nonsense authoritarian bearing led to being invariably typecast as police officers or soldiers. A trademark scar on his right cheek added extra credence to his characters, more than a few of whom did not survive to the final reel. He appeared several times in No Hiding Place (1959), Dixon of Dock Green (1955) and Crossroads (1964) and had featured roles in the war films The Heroes of Telemark (1965), Play Dirty (1969) and Too Late the Hero (1970). Through his friend Alec Guiness, he managed to secure a role in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) as an Imperial Officer, aide to Grand Moff Tarkin (played by Peter Cushing ). He unwisely opted to take a one-off fee for his part, rather than a tiny share of the royalties -- much to his later regret.
Jordan retired in 1995 and died at the age of 96 in January 2020. His wife was Margery Gill (1925-2008), an acclaimed illustrator of children's books.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Paul Lynde was born in 1926 in Mount Vernon, Ohio (one of six children and the middle of four boys). His father was a local police officer and the sheriff of the Mount Vernon Jail for two years. Lynde got his inspiration to become an actor at the age of four or five after his mother took him to see the original silent film Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925). After graduating from Northwestern University, Lynde relocated to New York City where his first break came from being a stand-up comedian at the Number One Fifth Avenue nightclub. Then came an appearance on a Broadway show, "New Faces of 1952".
Lynde also had a two-year run on TV with Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall (1948) and the Broadway and film versions of Bye Bye Birdie (1963). Throught his life, Lynde appeared in the Broadway plays "The Impossible Years", "Don't Drink the Water", and "Plaza Suite". His many film credits include New Faces (1954), Send Me No Flowers (1964), and Rabbit Test (1978). One of his most memorable roles was a recurring role on Bewitched (1964) playing the sneering, sarcastic Uncle Arthur. He appeared on TV's The Dean Martin Show (1965), The Kraft Music Hall (1967), Donny and Marie (1975), and both the prime-time and daytime versions of the game show The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1965) where he occupied the famous center square. He had two TV series of his own, The Paul Lynde Show (1972) and The New Temperatures Rising Show (1972). Paul Lynde's witty, wisecracking one-liners and his novel line delivery made him one of Hollywood's funniest and best loved entertainers. Paul Lynde died under mysterious circumstances when he was found dead in his bed after possibly suffering a heart attack in January 1982 at age 55. He had been in ill-health for over a year with cancer or some other illness that was never fully revealed to the public before or after his death.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Richard Allen Boone was born in Los Angeles, California, to Cecile Lillian (Beckerman) and Kirk Etna Boone, a wealthy corporate lawyer. His maternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants, while his father was descended from a brother of frontiersmen Daniel Boone and Squire Boone.
Richard was a college student, boxer, painter and oil-field laborer before ending up in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war he used the G.I. Bill to study acting with the Actor's Studio in New York. Serious and methodical, Boone debuted on Broadway in the play "Medea". Other plays followed, as did occasional TV work. In 1950 20th Century-Fox signed him to a contract and he made his screen debut in Halls of Montezuma (1951), playing a Marine Corps officer. Tall and craggy, Boone was continually cast in a number of war and western movies. He also tackled roles such as Pontius Pilate in The Robe (1953) and a police detective in Vicki (1953). In 1954 he was cast as Dr. Konrad Styner in the pioneering medical series Medic (1954), which was a critical but not a ratings success. This role lasted for two years, though in the meantime, he continued to appear in westerns and war movies.
In 1957 he played Dr. Wright, who treats Elizabeth for her memory lapses, in Lizzie (1957). It was also in that year that Boone was cast in what is his best-known role, the cultured gunfighter Paladin in the highly regarded western series Have Gun - Will Travel (1957). Although a gun for hire, Paladin was usually a moral one, did the job and lived at the Hotel Carlton in San Francisco. Immensely popular, the show made Boone a star. The series lasted six years, and in addition to starring in it, Boone also directed some episodes. He still kept busy on the big screen during the series' run, appearing as Sam Houston in the John Wayne epic The Alamo (1960), and as a weary cavalry captain fighting Indians in A Thunder of Drums (1961). After Have Gun - Will Travel (1957) ended in 1963, Boone hosted a dramatic anthology series, The Richard Boone Show (1963), but it was not successful.
Boone moved to Hawaii for the next seven years. During this time he made a few Westerns, including the muscular Rio Conchos (1964), but he was largely absent from the screen. In the 1970s he moved to Florida, and resumed his film and TV career with a vengeance. In 1972 he again appeared on television in the Jack Webb-produced series Hec Ramsey (1972) (years before he had played a police captain in Webb's first "Dragnet" film, Dragnet (1954)). Based on a real man, Hec was a tough, grizzled old frontier sheriff at the turn of the 20th century who, late in life, has studied the newest scientific theories of crime detection. His new boss, a much younger man, doesn't always approve of Hec, his nonconformist style or his new methods. The series lasted for two years. Boone continued working until the end of the decade but died as a result of throat cancer in 1981.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Robert Allan Ackerman was born on 30 June 1944 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001), My House in Umbria (2003) and The Ramen Girl (2008). He died on 10 January 2022 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Robert Durst was born on 12 April 1943 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Debrah Lee Charatan and Kathie Durst. He died on 10 January 2022 in Stockton, California, USA.
- Robert Fratta was born on 22 February 1957 in Westbury, New York, USA. He was married to Farah Fratta. He died on 10 January 2023 in Huntsville, Texas, USA.
- Roman Herzog was born on 5 April 1934 in Landshut, Bavaria, Germany. He was married to Alexandra Freifrau von Berlichingen and Christiane Herzog. He died on 10 January 2017 in Bad Mergentheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Sheldon Leonard was born in New York City's lower Manhattan, the son of Jewish parents. He studied acting at Syracuse University and, after graduating, landed a job on Wall Street. Following the Wall Street crash of 1929, he found himself unemployed and resolved to become a professional actor on the stage. The road was hard, since it took him five years to first appear on Broadway in "Hotel Alimony" (1934). While this production was universally slammed by the critics, the next plays he appeared in, "Having Wonderful Time" (1937) and "Kiss the Boys Goodbye" (1938), were unqualified successes, the former running for 372 performances.
Movie offers followed, and from 1939 he became one of Hollywood's most recognizable screen tough guys, the names of his characters evocative of the roles he played: Pretty Willie in Tall, Dark and Handsome (1941), Slip Moran in Lucky Jordan (1942), Lippy Harris in Jinx Money (1948), Jumbo Schneider in Money from Home (1953) and, famously, Harry the Horse in Guys and Dolls (1955). There was also an assortment of minor henchmen and western heavies named Blackie or Lefty, and he was Nick, the sneering, humorless barkeeper who tosses James Stewart into the snow in It's a Wonderful Life (1946).
Having had his fill of acting in those kinds of parts, Leonard began a new career as a television producer in the 1950s and went on to become one of the most successful TV producer/directors of the 1950s and 1960s. Four of his productions (all on CBS)--The Danny Thomas Show (1953), Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964), The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961) (which won 21 Emmy Awards) and The Andy Griffith Show (1960)--were rated in the Top Ten. He had a further success with I Spy (1965), championing the cause of racial equality over the (initial) objections of the network by being the first series to have an African-American (Bill Cosby) in an equal co-starring dramatic role with a white actor. Leonard is also regarded as having invented the television spin-off.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Sidney Miller was born Sydney L. Miller in Shenandoah, PA, on October 22, 1916, the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland, who already had two daughters. When Sydney was 14 his father, a tailor, sold his business and moved the family to Los Angeles. There Sydney got the acting bug, and his first film was an uncredited bit part in Penrod and Sam (1931). He worked steadily, although uncredited, over the next few years, his persona that of a brash and somewhat annoying street kid. His persistence paid off, though, and in 1933 he got his first screen credit (changing his first name from "Sydney" to "Sidney"). His big break came in 1938 when he starred opposite Mickey Rooney in Boys Town (1938) in which, unlike many of Rooney's colleagues, Sidney actually got along well with the star and the two became friends. Miller had an innate musical talent and soon was writing lyrics for Rooney's musical compositions. He often worked in front of or behind the cameras in many of Rooney's films in the 1930s. His musical work continued after Rooney joined the army during World War II, and his career began to shift from mainly acting to mainly songwriting.
In the late 1940s he worked extensively in radio and wrote the musical material for the nightclub acts of several Hollywood song-and-dance men, such as Donald O'Connor (Miller also worked onstage with O'Connor at times). O'Connor was picked to host the early television variety series The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950), and Miller went along as part of the show's writing team. After his stint on that show ended, he joined Walt Disney Studios, where he wrote, directed and composed music for many of Disney's TV series, including The Mickey Mouse Club (1955), for which Walt Disney wanted a complete revamping after the first season, and told Miller to change the show to appeal more to teenagers than to the very young children at which it was originally aimed. Miller brought in new writers and choreographers, gave the Mousketeers more musical numbers and comedy skits and turned the show into a sort of mini-variety show. Although that was what Walt Disney wanted, it didn't go over particularly well with the audience, and the numbers for the show went down. In addition, Miller could be somewhat abrasive as a director, which caused some friction on the set among the cast. Although there was talk of Miller directing a remake of March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934) at Disney in 1957, that film wasn't made until four years later (Babes in Toyland (1961)) and was directed by former song-and-dance man and choreographer Jack Donohue, as Miller had left Disney by that time.
Sidney Miller may well best be remembered for having directed Lou Costello's only starring film after his break-up with Bud Abbott, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959), which unfortunately didn't do the careers of either man much good. In the 1960s he directed many television series episodes, such as My Favorite Martian (1963), Get Smart (1965) and The Addams Family (1964) and played small parts in several films and TV shows. In the 1970s his onscreen output declined and he did much voice-over work in animated series.
Married three times, he is the father of actor Barry Miller with first wife Iris Burton. Sidney Miller passed away in Los Angeles from Parkinson's Disease on January 10, 2004.- Actor
- Writer
Spalding Gray was born on 5 June 1941 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Swimming to Cambodia (1987), Kate & Leopold (2001) and The Killing Fields (1984). He was married to Kathleen Russo and Renée Shafransky. He died on 10 January 2004 in New York City, New York, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Taylor Negron was born Brad Stephen Negron in Glendale, California, to Lucy (Rosario) and Conrad Negron, who was mayor of Indian Wells, CA. His parents were both of Puerto Rican descent. Negron attended UCLA, studied acting with Lee Strasberg, and studied comedy at a private seminar taught by Lucille Ball. He went on to join the cast of an improvisational comedy group, whose ranks included talents like Robin Williams, Martin Short and Betty Thomas. In 1982 Negron made his motion-picture debut as a love-struck, pill-popping, dancing intern in Young Doctors in Love (1982) and as the obviously peeved Mr. Pizza Guy in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). He also played Rodney Dangerfield's son-in-law in Easy Money (1983).
Negron was honored with the distinction of being asked to teach one of the first comedy courses offered at UCLA.
Negron died of cancer on January 10, 2015.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Theo Adam was born on 1 August 1926 in Dresden, Germany. He was an actor, known for Fidelio (1968), Fidelio (1979) and Gala unter den Linden (1977). He was married to Eleonore. He died on 10 January 2019 in Dresden, Saxony, Germany.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Tony Rosato was born on 26 December 1954 in Naples, Campania, Italy. He was an actor and writer, known for Night Heat (1985), SCTV (1976) and Seeds of Doubt (1998). He was married to Leah Murray. He died on 10 January 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.- Torleif Thorstensson was born on 26 June 1949 in Norrhult-Klavreström, Småland, Sweden. He died on 10 January 2021 in Halmstad, Sweden.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Valerie Stevenson was born on 19 October 1962 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress, known for Dreams (1984), Project A-Ko (1986) and The A-Team (1983). She was married to Lance G. Joseph. She died on 10 January 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Wolfgang Dauner was born on 30 December 1935 in Stuttgart, Germany. He was a composer, known for Faust (1926), Tatort (1970) and Becks letzter Sommer (2015). He was married to Randi Bubat. He died on 10 January 2020 in Stuttgart, Germany.