Deaths: May 13
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- Actress
- Soundtrack
Teresa Berganza was born on 16 March 1933 in Madrid, Spain. She was an actress, known for Don Giovanni (1979), ¡Buen viaje, excelencia! (2003) and Carmen (1980). She was married to José Rifá and Felix Lavilla. She died on 13 May 2022 in Madrid, Spain.- Anthony Bailey was born on 5 January 1933 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, UK. He was married to Margot. He died on 13 May 2020 in Harwich, Essex, England, UK.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Baadur Tsuladze was born on 5 March 1935 in Batumi, Transcaucasian SFSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. He was an actor and director, known for Krosvordis amokhsnis mokvarultatvsis (1981), Myach, perchatka i kapitan (1970) and Sami simgera (1962). He died on 13 May 2018 in Tbilisi, Georgia.- Beth Chatto was born on 27 June 1923 in Good Easter, Chelmsford, Essex, England, UK. She was married to Andrew Chatto. She died on 13 May 2018 in Colchester, Essex, England, UK.
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
Bozidar 'Bota' Nikolic was born on 1 January 1942 in Niksic, Montenegro, Yugoslavia. He was a cinematographer and director, known for Balkan Spy (1984), Life Is Beautiful (1985) and Beasts (1977). He died on 13 May 2021 in Belgrade, Serbia.- Charlotte Keane was born on 8 March 1920 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Suspense (1949), Hands of Mystery (1949) and Famous Jury Trials (1949). She was married to Ted Pearson. She died on 13 May 2017 in New York, USA.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Chet Baker started his career in the late forties. He became famous with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet in 1952. His solo in "My funny valentine" is a classic of the west coast jazz in the fifties. When Mulligan was arrested in 1953, Chet led the group until 1955, when he went to Europe. He also sang on many records. In Europe he recorded with many musicians in different countries. His career was interrupted many times for personal problems with drugs and he was arrested many times for his addiction. In 1974 he come back to music after three years in obscurity, playing in a concert in Carnegie Hall with his old friend, Gerry Mulligan. After this he started a "new career", but his problems with drugs were continuous. His death today is a mystery, one possibility is suicide but another says he was killed by trafficants in Amsterdam, Holland.- Chuck Panama was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Chuck was married to Gerry Panama. Chuck died on 13 May 2018 in Woodland Hills, California, USA.
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Additional Crew
Clive Limpkin was born on 4 September 1937 in the UK. He is known for McCullin (2012) and Man Alive (1965). He was married to Alex. He died on 13 May 2020 in London, England, UK.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Dan Blocker is one of the true television immortals, having played Hoss Cartwright -- the heart and soul of Bonanza (1959) -- for 13 seasons, before his untimely death in 1972 at the age of 43. "Bonanza" was the most popular TV series of the 1960s, ranked #1 for three straight seasons (1964-65 through 1966-67) and spending a then-unprecedented nine seasons in the Top 5. After Blocker's death, "Bonanza" -- still in the Top 20 with Hoss after being #8 the previous year -- didn't last another entire season.
The character of Hoss was conceived as a stereotype: The Gentle Giant. The 6'4", 300 lbs. Blocker filled Hoss's cowboy boots and ten-gallon hat admirably but brought something extra to the role, a warmth and empathy that helped ground the show. Personal accounts of Blocker testify to the fact that the man was gregarious and friendly to everyone. He brought that upbeat personality to the character of Hoss.
Hoss originally had been conceived as dull-witted, but ironically, Blocker's professional acting career was assured after he moved his family to California so he could pursue a PhD at U.C.L.A. A native of West Texas, he reportedly was discovered while making a call in a phone booth while outfitted in Western garb, including a straw cowboy hat, his standard dress being a native son of Texas, soon after arriving in California. Even after being cast in "Bonanza", he intended to complete his PhD, but the great success of the series made that impossible, due to the workload of 30+ episodes per year necessitating a 7AM-9PM work schedule five days a week.
Donny Dany Blocker made his debut on December 10, 1928 in De Kalb, Texas, weighing in at 14 lbs. He reportedly was the biggest baby ever born in Bowie County. By the age of 12, he already was 6' tall and weighed 200 lbs. (Towards the end of "Bonanza", he reportedly had ballooned past his stated weight of 300 to as much as 365 lbs.) A "TV Guide" story after his death reported that back in Texas, the young Dan once lifted a car off of a man after it slid off a jack and pinned him under the auto. "My daddy used to say that I was too big to ride and too little to hitch a wagon to," Blocker said, "no good for a damn thing".
His father, Ora Blocker, a poor Texas farmer, was hurt by the Great Depression that began the year after Dan's birth. Ora Blocker lost the farm and later went into the grocery business. He moved his family to O'Donnell, which is just south of Lubbock, where he ran a grocery store. His "no good" son went to the Texas Military Institute, and in 1946 started his undergraduate work at Hardin-Simmons University (Abilene, Texas), where he played football. It was there he fell in love with acting when he was recruited by a girlfriend to play a role in campus production of Arsenic and Old Lace as they needed a strong man to lift the bodies that the spinster aunts had dispatched up from the cellar.
After graduating in 1950 with a degree in English, Blocker went east where he did repertory work in Boston. A 1960 "TV Guide" article says that he appeared on Broadway in the 1950-51 production of King Lear, which starred Louis Calhern. The draft soon ended his apprenticeship, and he served in the Army in the Korean War, making sergeant. After being demobilized in 1952, he attended attended Sul Ross State Teacher's College (Alpine, Texas), earning a master's degree in dramatic arts. He taught English and drama at a Sonora, Texas high school before moving to Carlsbad, New Mexico, where he taught sixth grade. He then moved his family to California, where he again taught school while preparing for his PhD studies.
Blocker picked up bit parts in television, making his debut as a bartender in The Sheriff of Cochise (1956). His career rise was steady and rapid, and he appeared on many Westerns, including Gunsmoke (1955), Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), The Rifleman (1958), and Maverick (1957). He claimed his turn as Hognose Hughes on "Maverick", the comic Western starring James Garner, was the seminal role of his career. As Hoss, Blocker would often star in light-hearted episodes on "Bonanza". He was cast in the recurring role of "Tiny" Carl Budinger in the short lived Western series, Cimarron City (1958). Its cancellation after one season made him available for "Bonanza", which was "Cimarron City" creator David Dortort's next project. He had previously appeared on Dortort's Western series, The Restless Gun (1957).
"Bonanza" debuted in September 1959, shot in color, and R.C.A. made color TV sets and saw the program as a good advertisement for its wares. The company sponsored the first two seasons of the show, and the sponsorship and R.C.A.'s ownership of N.B.C. was likely why it wasn't cancelled after its shaky first season, when it placed #45 in the ratings for the 1959-60 season. The following year, it cracked the top 20 at #17, but it wasn't until it was shifted to Sundays at 9PM in the 1961-62 season that it became a ratings phenomenon, coming in at #2. It was the first of nine straight seasons in the top 5. Once "Bonanza" was ensconced as America's favorite Western, Blocker and his three co-stars, Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts and Michael Landon were paid an extremely handsome salary that eventually rose to approximately $10,000 per episode each by the time Roberts quit after the sixth season, its first at #1.
Commenting on Roberts' departure, Landon said, "After he left we took one leaf out of the dining room table and we all made more money because we split the take three ways instead of four." Salary, royalties from Bonanza-related merchandise, and business ventures (Blocker started the Bonanza Steak House chain in 1963), and an eventual $1-million payout from NBC to buy out the residual rights of each of the three remaining stars made them all rich. "Bonanza" made Blocker a very wealthy man, but more importantly, it made him a television immortal. The series continues to be re-run in syndication 40 years after Hoss exited the stage.- Production Designer
- Art Department
- Art Director
David Nichols was born on 24 November 1941 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He was a production designer and art director, known for Mean Streets (1973), Groundhog Day (1993) and Rocky (1976). He died on 13 May 2020 in Taos, New Mexico, USA.- One of the outstanding stage actresses of her time, Diana Wynyard will always be remembered for her unforgettable performance in the British version of the thriller Gaslight (1940) (re-made in Hollywood in 1944 with Ingrid Bergman). Starring opposite the great Anton Walbrook, she played the part of terrorized Bella Mallen (driven to the point of insanity by her evil husband) with an ethereal, haunted fragility. Diana Wynyard was educated at the Woodford School in Croydon and first appeared on the stage in London in 1925, debuting in 'Sorry, You've been Troubled' as Lady Sheridan. She soon became one of the great stars of the British theatre with a wide-ranging repertoire, which included Shakespeare, Chekhov and Shaw. In 1937, she played Eliza Doolittle in 'Pygmalion'.
In 1932, she was signed to a contract at MGM and was cast opposite the three Barrymores in Rasputin and the Empress (1932). However, her best performance was with Clive Brook in Noël Coward's Cavalcade (1933), for which she received an Academy Award nomination. The New York Times (June 6, 1933) remarked, "Miss Wynyard is excellent as Jane Marryot. She portrays her role with such sympathy and feeling that one scarcely thinks of her as an actress". Another review of Diana Wynyard, this time for One More River (1934), described her acting as 'stirringly sincere'. Her Hollywood career lasted only two years before the actress returned to England. She gave other sensitive performances in The Prime Minister (1941), with John Gielgud as Benjamin Disraeli, and The Remarkable Mr. Kipps (1941), with Michael Redgrave, both directed by Carol Reed. Her subsequent marriage to Reed lasted just four years. Diana Wynyard appeared in smaller supporting roles during the 1950s and, in keeping with her confession "I don't really want to be a film star", gradually returned to the Shakespearean stage. One of her last significant screen roles was as James Mason's mother in Island in the Sun (1957).
On stage, she played Beatrice, first opposite Anthony Quayle and later John Gielgud, in 'Much ado about nothing' (Australian tour, 1949-50). Other parts included Katherine in 'The Taming of the Shrew' and Hermione in 'The Winter's Tale'. Diana was awarded a CBE in 1953 for her contribution to the theatre. She never stopped working and gave her final performance as Gertrude to Peter O'Toole's Hamlet. - Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Donald Dunn was born on 24 November 1941 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. He was an actor, known for The Blues Brothers (1980), Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) and Rush Hour (1998). He was married to June. He died on 13 May 2012 in Tokyo, Japan.- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
One of America's most loved actresses was born Doris Mary Kappelhoff on April 3, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Alma Sophia (Welz), a housewife, and William Joseph Kappelhoff, a music teacher and choir master. Her grandparents were all German immigrants. She had two brothers, Richard, who died before she was born and Paul, a few years older.
Her parents divorced while she was still a child, and she lived with her mother. Like most little girls, Doris liked to dance. At fourteen, she formed a dance act with a boy, Jerry Doherty, and they won $500 in a local talent contest. She and Jerry took a brief trip to Hollywood to test the waters. They felt they could succeed, so she and Jerry returned to Cincinnati with the intention of packing and making a permanent move to Hollywood. Tragically, the night before she was to move to Hollywood, she was injured riding in a car hit by a train, ending the possibility of a dancing career.
It was a terrible setback, but after taking singing lessons she found a new vocation, and at age 17, she began touring with the Les Brown Band. She met trombonist Al Jorden, whom she married in 1941. Jorden was prone to violence and they divorced after two years, not long after the birth of their son Terry. In 1946, Doris married George Weidler, but this union lasted less than a year. Day's agent talked her into taking a screen test at Warner Bros. The executives there liked what they saw and signed her to a contract (her early credits are often confused with those of another actress named Doris Day, who appeared mainly in B westerns in the 1930s and 1940s).
Her first starring movie role was in Romance on the High Seas (1948). The next year, she made two more films, My Dream Is Yours (1949) and It's a Great Feeling (1949). Audiences took to her beauty, terrific singing voice and bubbly personality, and she turned in fine performances in the movies she made (in addition to several hit records). She made three films for Warner Bros. in 1950 and five more in 1951. In that year, she met and married Martin Melcher, who adopted her young son Terry, who later grew up to become Terry Melcher, a successful record producer.
In 1953, Doris starred in Calamity Jane (1953), which was a major hit, and several more followed: Lucky Me (1954), Love Me or Leave Me (1955), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) and what is probably her best-known film, Pillow Talk (1959). She began to slow down her filmmaking pace in the 1960s, even though she started out the decade with a hit, Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960).
In 1958, her brother Paul died. Around this time, her husband, who had also taken charge of her career, had made deals for her to star in films she didn't really care about, which led to a bout with exhaustion. The 1960s weren't to be a repeat of the previous busy decade. She didn't make as many films as she had in that decade, but the ones she did make were successful: Do Not Disturb (1965), The Glass Bottom Boat (1966), Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968) and With Six You Get Eggroll (1968). Martin Melcher died in 1968, and Doris never made another film, but she had been signed by Melcher to do her own TV series, The Doris Day Show (1968). That show, like her movies, was successful, lasting until 1973. After her series went off the air, she made only occasional TV appearances.
By the time Martin Melcher died, Doris discovered she was millions of dollars in debt. She learned that Melcher had squandered virtually all of her considerable earnings, but she was eventually awarded $22 million by the courts in a case against a man that Melcher had unwisely let invest her money. She married for the fourth time in 1976 and since her divorce in 1980 has devoted her life to animals.
Doris was a passionate animal rights activist. She ran Doris Day Animal League in Carmel, California, which advocates homes and proper care of household pets.
Doris died on May 13, 2019, in Carmel Valley Village, California. She was 97.- Evelyn Foster was born on 21 September 1928 in The Bronx, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for NET Playhouse (1964). She was married to Lucius Foster and Raymond Francis Mazur. She died on 13 May 2019 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
For someone who goes only to movie theaters, Frank Aletter is a total stranger. It is true that the actor appeared in no more than a handful of theatrical films (Gerhart in Mister Roberts (1955), a commanding officer in Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), Leigh Jensen in Private School (1983)...). But for a TV fan things are just the opposite, for Aletter was cast in NEARLY ALL the TV series, films, sitcoms and specials shot between 1955 and 1991! A sample of titles just give you an idea of Frank Aletter's prolific output on the small screen: Bringing Up Buddy (1960), Perry Mason (1957), The Cara Williams Show (1964), Lassie (1954), Mannix (1967), Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969), Insight (1960), Kojak (1973), Cannon (1971), Hunter (1976), "Super Jaimie"... In his first life, Frank Aletter had been a regular on Broadway appearing in plays and musicals like "Bells Are Ringing", "Time Limit", "Wish You Were Here" and of course "Mister Roberts", which opened to him the doors of filmed fiction.- Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Frank McGrath was born on 2 February 1903 in Mound City, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for The Reluctant Astronaut (1967), Wagon Train (1957) and Tammy and the Millionaire (1967). He was married to Libby Quay Buschlen. He died on 13 May 1967 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Gabriel Bacquier was born on 17 May 1924 in Béziers, Hérault, France. He was an actor, known for Manon of the Spring (1986), Falstaff (1979) and The Metropolitan Opera Presents (1977). He was married to Sylvie Oussenko. He died on 13 May 2020 in Lestre, Normandy, France.- Actor
- Stunts
- Producer
Born to Alice Cooper and Charles Cooper. Gary attended school at Dunstable school England, Helena Montana and Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa (then called Iowa College). His first stage experience was during high school and college. Afterwards, he worked as an extra for one year before getting a part in a two-reeler by the independent producer Hans Tiesler . Eileen Sedgwick was his first leading lady. He then appeared in The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926) for United Artists before moving to Paramount. While there he appeared in a small part in Wings (1927), It (1927), and other films.- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Gill Dennis was born on 25 January 1941 in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Walk the Line (2005), Return to Oz (1985) and Without Evidence (1995). He was married to Kristen Peckinpah and Elizabeth Hartman. He died on 13 May 2015 in Portland, Oregon, USA.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Glenn Branca was born on 6 October 1948 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for The Mothman Prophecies (2002), The Belly of an Architect (1987) and Rock My Religion (1984). He was married to Reg Bloor. He died on 13 May 2018 in New York City, New York, USA.- Additional Crew
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gregory Tyree Boyce was born on 5 December 1989 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Twilight (2008), True to the Game 2 (2020) and Team Kaylie (2019). He died on 13 May 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Music Department
Isaac Kappy was an American actor and musician from Albuquerque, New Mexico who was known for acting in the hit feature length films Thor, Terminator Salvation and Fanboys. He also acted in the hit series Breaking Bad and was a member of the band Monster Paws. He passed away in May 13th, 2019.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Character actor and playwright Jason Miller had a variety of jobs before he started a writing career and wrote his own play, "That Championship Season", for which he received the Pulitzer Prize Award. Miller gave up his professional writing career in the early seventies to start acting. In 1973, he starred as a troubled priest in the horror film classic The Exorcist (1973), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1982, he directed the revival of his play, That Championship Season (1982), to the screen. The father of actor Jason Patric and actor/director/writer Joshua John Miller, Miller's other film credits include playing the title role in the made-for-television film F. Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood (1975), The Ninth Configuration (1980), Toy Soldiers (1984), The Exorcist III (1990) and Rudy (1993)". Miller died in Scranton, Pennsylvannia at the age of 62.- Jerome Callet was born on 24 April 1930 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a composer, known for The Emperor and the Army (2009). He was married to Yumiko Morimoto and Eleanor Wolfe. He died on 13 May 2019 in Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Jill Adams (nee Siggins), was discovered while working as a model, having been asked to step in at the department store where she was an artist, when a model failed to show up. She was the daughter of Irish-American silent film actress Molly Adair, and New-Zealand writer, Arthur James Siggins (published under the name A.J. Siggins),. He had first sailed from the Antipodes to Africa as a young man to fight in the Boer war, where he served with the Matabele Mounted Police and later represented The ANZACs at Cecil Rhodes funeral in1902. His first wife was from Mozambique. The couple first met in Tanganyika (now Tanzania), where he was working with the High Commission. She was there on location to star in the silent film version of 'The Blue Lagoon' The young ingénue became A.J. Siggins' 2nd wife. After several years in Africa, during which time two sons were born, they relocated to England, where Jillian M.M.J. Siggins was born in London. During WWII, the family moved to North Wales, where they had 2 working farms. Upon returning to London following the war, and after Jill had become a successful model, she married a young US Navy officer stationed in the British capital, by the name of James Adams, in 1951. They had a daughter (Tina) in 1952. Jill's career began to flourish, but sadly the marriage did not, and now alone she began securing a few minor TV and film roles, before eventually being signed by J. Arthur Rank as one of the corporation's 'starlets'. The bubbly blonde actress, Jill Adams, soon made a string of popular films for the studios - many of which were light-hearted comedies such as 'Doctor at Sea' and 'Brothers in Law' - and she was often referred to as Britain's answer to Marilyn Monroe. She also made a few films in the US and Australia. In 1957, she married the well-known BBC radio and TV personality, Peter Haigh, and they were very much the 'It' couple. They had a daughter, Peta Louise, in 1962. Jill also starred in the popular TV series 'The Flying Doctor' which lasted for 39 episodes. Over the next few years, although no longer getting the bigger roles, Adams continued to work both in radio and on stage. But, by the end of the 60s, with fewer opportunities available, she essentially retired from show business. In 1971, she and her husband Peter moved the family to the Algarve in Portugal, where they ran a hotel and restaurant in Albufeira. When that marriage ended, Adams spent several years with Michael Johnson, a former British radio host and musician, with whom she ran two businesses. She then eventually went solo until meeting Alan 'Buster' Jones, and moved first to the Lisbon area to be with him, and then they relocated to Spain. Following Jones's death in 1996, in the Costa del Sol, she returned to Portugal to be nearer to family. Always a prolific, popular and talented artist, she continued to paint even after being diagnosed with cancer in 2005 and right up until her death in Clareanes, in the Algarve., on May 13, 2008, at the age of 77.- Music Department
Jimmy Copley was born in 1953 in London, England, UK. He is known for Magnum: On a Storyteller's Night (1985) and M3: Rough An' Ready (2006). He died on 13 May 2017 in the UK.- Director
- Animation Department
- Writer
Jinqing Hu was born in March 1936 in Changzhou, Jiangsu, Republic of China. He was a director and writer, known for Yu bang xiang zheng (1984), The Brave Little Toaster (1987) and The Stronger Get Hooked (1988). He died on 13 May 2019 in Shanghai, China.- Joel Dean was born on 20 February 1949 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer, known for Summer Lovers (1982), Turn Back the Clock (1989) and The Cartier Affair (1984). He died on 13 May 2017 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Director
John Cygan was born on 27 April 1954 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001), Iron Man (2008) and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003). He was married to Cathy Merriman. He died on 13 May 2017 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
John Phillip Law was born on 7 September 1937 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Barbarella (1968), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) and Space Mutiny (1988). He was married to Shawn Ryan. He died on 13 May 2008 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Joyce Brothers was born on 20 October 1927 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Loaded Weapon 1 (1993), The King of Comedy (1982) and Spy Hard (1996). She was married to Milton Brothers. She died on 13 May 2013 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Furiously prolific and ubiquitous extra Kenner G. Kemp was born on January 3, 1908 in Concho, Arizona. Kemp first started appearing in films in uncredited minor roles in the early 1930's and began popping up in numerous TV shows in the early 1950's. Moreover, Kenner not only also worked as both a stuntman and an occasional stand-in for Walter Pidgeon, but also was a longtime officer in the Screen Extras Guild which included treasurer and vice president. His sister Donna Kempe also worked as an extra. Kemp died at age 77 on May 13, 1985 in Los Angeles, California.- Lalo Malcolm was born on 13 July 1903 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an actor, known for Arsenio Lupin (1961), Buenos Aires a la vista (1950) and El grito de la juventud (1939). He died on 13 May 1970 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Making her film debut as an extra in 1917, Leatrice Joy soon graduated to playing opposite comics Billy West and Oliver Hardy. Director Cecil B. DeMille took her under his wing and starred her in several of his films. Often playing career girls dressed in mannish suits, or sophisticated society girls, she is generally credited with starting the bobbed-hair craze in the 1920s. She retired shortly after the advent of sound, but made occasional appearances in small supporting roles over the years.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Lil Keed was born on 16 March 1998 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He was an actor, known for Atlanta (2016), Lil Keed feat. Lil Gotit: Dead Doc (2020) and Lil Keed: Wop (2018). He died on 13 May 2022 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Malik Bendjelloul, born in Sweden, performed in Swedish TV-series "Ebba och Didrik" as a child in the nineties and later in life studied Journalism and media-production at the Linnaeus University of Kalmar. He has produced several musical documentaries for Swedish Television (SVT) where he also worked as a reporter on the show "Kobra" until he resigned to travel the world. During these travels Malik Bendjelloul first came in contact with the story which was to develop into "Searching for Sugarman" somewhere in South America.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Manuel Pradal was born on 22 March 1964 in Aubenas, Ardèche, France. He was a director and writer, known for Marie Baie des Anges (1997), Ginostra (2002) and La petite inconnue (2016). He died on 13 May 2017 in Paris, France.- Marcos Zucker was born on 15 February 1921 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an actor, known for The Cheat (1996), De corazón (1997) and Compromiso (1983). He died on 13 May 2003 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Margot Kidder was born Margaret Ruth Kidder in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, to Jocelyn Mary "Jill" (Wilson), a history teacher from British Columbia, and Kendall Kidder, a New Mexico-born mining engineer and explosives expert. Margot was a delightful child who took pride in everything she did. At an early age, she became aware of the great emotions she felt towards expressing herself, and caught the acting bug. As a child, she wrote in a diary that she wanted to become a movie star, and that one day it would happen, but she had to overcome something else first. She was aware that she was constantly facing mood swings, but didn't know why. At odd times, she would try to kill herself - the first time was at age 14 - but the next day she would be just fine. Her father's hectic schedule and moving around so much didn't help matters, either, causing her to attend 11 schools in 12 years. Finally, in an attempt to help Margot with her troubles, her parents sent" her to a boarding school, where she took part in school plays, such as Romeo and Juliet", in which she played the lead.
After graduation, Margot moved to Los Angeles to start a film career. She found herself dealing with a lot of prejudice, and hotheads, but later found solace with a Canadian agent. This was when she got her first acting job, in the Norman Jewison film Gaily, Gaily (1969). This led to another starring role in Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx (1970), in which she co-starred with Gene Wilder. After some harsh words from the film's director, Margot temporarily left films to study acting in New York, doing television work to pay her bills, but when the money ran out, she decided it was time to make a second try at acting. When she arrived in Hollywood she met up at a screen test with actress Jennifer Salt, resulting in a friendship that still stands strong today. Margot and Jennifer moved into a lofty beach house and befriended other, then unknown, struggling filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Steven Spielberg and Susan Sarandon, among others. Late nights would see the hot, happening youngsters up until all hours talking around a fire about how they were all going to change the film industry. It was crazy living and within the Christmas season, Margot had become involved with De Palma, and as a Christmas present he gave her the script to his upcoming film Sisters (1972). Margot and Salt both had the leads in the film, and it was a huge critical success.
The film made branded Margot as a major talent, and in the following years she starred in a string of critically acclaimed pictures, such as Black Christmas (1974), The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), 92 in the Shade (1975) - directed by Thomas McGuane, who was also her husband for a brief period - and a somewhat prophetic tale of self-resurrection, The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975).
After three years of being a housewife, looking after her daughter Maggie and not working, Margot decided it was time to let her emotions take control and get back into acting. Once her marriage to McGuane was over, she eyed a script that would change her life forever. Her new agent referred her to a little-known director named Richard Donner. He was going to be directing a film called Superman (1978), and she auditioned for and secured the leading female role of Lois Lane. That film and Superman II (1980) filmed simultaneously. After the success of "Superman" she took on more intense roles, such as The Amityville Horror (1979) and Willie & Phil (1980). After that, Margot starred in numerous films, television and theater work throughout the 1980s, including Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). When the 1990s erupted with the Gulf War, Margot found herself becoming involved in politics. She made a stir in the biz when she spoke out against the military for their actions in Kuwait. She also appeared in a cameo in Donner's Maverick (1994).
In 1996, as she was preparing to write her autobiography, she began to become more and more paranoid. When her computer became infected with a virus, this gave her paranoia full rein, and she sank into bipolar disorder. She panicked, and the resulting psychological problems she created for herself resulted in her fantasizing that her first husband was going to kill her, so she left her home and faked her death, physically altering her appearance in the process. After an intervention took place, she got back on her feet and started the mental wellness campaign. Since then, she resumed her career in film, television, and theatre, including appearing in a Canadian stage production of "The Vagina Monologues", and in films like The Clown at Midnight (1998).
Margot died on May 13, 2018, in Livingston, Montana.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Maria João Abreu was born on 14 April 1964 in Lisbon, Portugal. She was an actress and writer, known for A Mãe é que Sabe (2016), Golpe de Sorte (2019) and Submissão (2020). She was married to João Soares and José Raposo. She died on 13 May 2021 in Almada, Portugal.- Michael Madhu was an actor, known for Om (1995), AK 47 (1999) and Shiva Sainya (1996). He died on 13 May 2020 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Paul Bartel was born in Brooklyn in 1938. He decided he wanted to direct animated movies when he was 11 and by 13 had spent a summer working at New York's UPA animation studio. He majored in theater arts at UCLA, and received a Fulbright scholarship to study film direction in Rome, producing a short that was presented at the 1962 Venice Fiom Festival. He later was hired by Roger Corman's brother, Gene, to direct a low-budget horror featured called Private Parts (1972). Roger Corman hired him as a second unit director on Big Bad Mama (1974), which led to his directing Death Race 2000 (1975). He could not persuade Corman to finance his pet project, Eating Raoul (1982). The $500,000 black comedy was made after his parents sold their New Jersey home and gave him the money. Shot in 22 days, mostly weekends, over the course of a year, Eating Raoul (1982) starred Bartel and Mary Woronov as gourmet cannibals who lure sex swingers to their apartment, smack them with a skillet, rob them and use the proceeds to buy a restaurant.- Character actor Paul Morgan Genge was born on March 29, 1913 in Brooklyn, New York. Genge began his acting career on the East Coast in Broadway stage productions of such plays as "Panic," "Hamlet," "Journey to Jerusalem," and "Romeo and Juliet." Paul first started acting in various films and television shows in 1953. With his rough face, strong compact build, and stern demeanor, Genge was often cast as either police officers or intimidating tough guys that include his best-known role as shotgun-toting gray-haired hitman Mike in the landmark action thriller classic Bullitt (1968). Outside of acting, Paul also served in the Army where he achieved the rank of staff sergeant. Genge died at age 75 on May 13, 1988 in Los Angeles, California.
- Director
- Writer
Riad Ismat, a Syrian playwright, short-story writer, literary & arts critic, stage director and instructor of acting. He directed 15 theatre productions and wrote over 7 television serials, broadcast from many Arab satellite stations. He has 35 books to his credit, two of them are on world cinema, namely: Memories of Cinema and The Cinematic Imagination.- Cinematographer
- Special Effects
- Editorial Department
The favorite cinematographer of legendary director Alfred Hitchcock began working at Warner Bros. when he was 19 years old. He climbed his way up from camera operator to assistant camera man and eventually took over the Special Photographic Effects unit at Warners on Stage 5 in 1944. He became an expert in forced perspective techniques which were widely in use at the time as cost-saving measures, or on B-pictures. Burks did special effects work on major productions like Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), The Unsuspected (1947) and Key Largo (1948).
In 1949, Burks graduated to becoming a fully-fledged director of photography. His striking black & white work on The Fountainhead (1949) was particularly evocative in showcasing the stark, austere architectural lines of the film's chief protagonist, Howard Roark (Gary Cooper). On the strength of this, and his next film, The Glass Menagerie (1950), Hitchcock hired him to shoot his thriller Strangers on a Train (1951). From this developed one of Hollywood's most inspired collaborations, as well as a close personal friendship.
When his contract at Warner Brothers expired in 1953, Burks followed Hitchcock to Paramount and went on to play an integral part in creating the brooding, tension-laden atmosphere of the director's best work between 1954 and 1964. His range varied from the neo-realist, almost semi-documentary black & white look of The Wrong Man (1956) to the intensely warm and beautiful deep focus VistaVision colour photography of Vertigo (1958). His muted tones matching the claustrophobic setting of Rear Window (1954) stood in sharp contrast to the vibrant, full-hued colours used in the expansive outdoor footage of To Catch a Thief (1955) and North by Northwest (1959).
The experience Burks had gained in forced perspective miniatures in his early days at Warner Brothers, also stood him in good stead on 'Vertigo' (the mission tower), 'North by Northwest' (the Mount Rushmore scenes) and, later, 'The Birds'. Because of his expertise, Burks was often able to contribute ideas to shooting scenes more effectively. He was also an innovator in the application of both telephoto and wide angle lenses as a means to creating a specific mood. The Hitchcock-Burks partnership ended after Marnie (1964), and, under less-inspired directors (except for A Patch of Blue (1965)), his later work inevitably declined in quality. Robert Burks and his wife, Elysabeth, were tragically killed in a fire at their house in May 1968.
Robert Burks won the 1955 Academy Award for Best Colour Photography for 'To Catch a Thief'. He was also nominated for 'Strangers on a Train', 'Rear Window' and 'A Patch of Blue'.- Rogelio Blain was born on 24 August 1944 in Cuba. He was an actor, known for The Man from Maisinicu (1973), The Stevensons (2006) and Las huérfanas de la Obra Pía (2000). He died on 13 May 2018 in Havana, Cuba.
- Rolf Hochhuth was born on 1 April 1931 in Eschwege/Werra, Hesse, Germany. He was a writer, known for Berliner Antigone (1968), Amen. (2002) and A Love in Germany (1983). He was married to Johanna Binger, Danica Pavic, Marianne Heinemann and Ursula Euler. He died on 13 May 2020 in Berlin, Germany.
- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Most familiar to TV audiences as the diminutive but feisty court bailiff on Night Court (1984), Selma Diamond's entrance into acting was not through the usual venue of vaudeville, stage work or modeling - she was a writer for TV shows, once having been nominated for an Emmy for Caesar's Hour (1954). Although she had that tough New York accent and street demeanor, she was actually born in London, Ontario, Canada, then raised in Brooklyn. A graduate of New York University, she at first made a living by selling cartoons and fiction to the "New Yorker" magazine. NBC hired her as a writer for one of its radio shows, "The Big Show," and she later made the transition into writing for television. Her film debut was as the voice on the telephone of Spencer Tracy's wife in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), where the world got a sample of the distinctive Diamond voice: nasal, high-pitched and one that could never be mistaken for anyone else's. She did a lot of TV work and was a regular on another series, Too Close for Comfort (1980) before Night Court (1984). She died due to lung cancer in 1985.- Producer
- Production Manager
Steve Parker was born on 6 February 1922. He was a producer and production manager, known for My Geisha (1962), John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! (1965) and The Lords of the New Church: Holy War (1992). He was married to Miki Hasegawa and Shirley MacLaine. He died on 13 May 2001 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.- Unita Blackwell was born on 18 March 1933 in Lula, Mississipi, USA. She was married to Willie Wright, Jeremiah Blackwell Sr. and N. She died on 13 May 2019 in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, USA.
- Yoshio was born on 15 October 1949 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He was an actor, known for Hora marcada (1988), El pecado de Oyuki (1988) and Malacopa (2018). He was married to Marcela Hernández. He died on 13 May 2020 in Mexico City, Mexico.