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In Memoriam: Entertainment Industry Celebrity Deaths

Kromm

By Kromm
in Everything Else TV

Mr. Sparkle
Message added by Mr. Sparkle,

Reminder:

This thread is for deaths of celebrities in the entertainment business only. No notices about politicians, please. 

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Bastet
Bastet

Piss up a rope, Val Kilmer.  If your physical illness got so bad that your life utterly sucked and no end to that suffering was in sight, so that suicide was or seemed to be the best of the available

wilsie
wilsie
BetterButter
BetterButter

Olivia Newton-John Has Died At 73

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AimingforYoko

AimingforYoko

3 hours ago, Blergh said:

He shouldn't EVER be forgotten!

After all, had he not successfully piloted the Command Module and gotten the Lunar Module to dock, Aldrin and Armstrong wouldn't have been able to return from their lunar expedition! 

How could he be forgotten when he was played by Liam Neeson?

Hmmm, I'm being told that was a different Michael Collins. Anyway, good job Michael (The Astronaut.)

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praeceptrix

praeceptrix

Glimmerglass Opera just announced that their Emeritus General & Artistic Director, Paul Kellogg, died today (of natural causes) at the age of 84. The obituary in Broadway World is quite informative. Mr. Kellogg was also the General & Artistic Director for New York City Opera. I'd have to go through my (extensive and completely disorganized) collection of playbills to find out if I ever saw his productions at City Opera; I only attended performances of Glimmerglass long after his retirement.

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Blergh

Blergh

Johnny Crawford, who had played Mark McMain, the earnest but sometimes rebellious teenaged son of the intimidating yet fiercely protective  title character (played by baseball legend turned performer Chuck Connors) in The Rifleman (1958-1963) died April 29,2021 at age 75 with of complications of pneumonia, COVID-19 after having been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in 2019. What a sad, torturous way for his life to come to a close for him and his loved ones! I truly hope and pray he's resting in peace with his mind and body restored in the next world. Have I expressed lately how much I LOATHE Alzheimer's Disease  and COVID-19 (and pneumonia's also on my hit list)?! RIP, Mr. Crawford!

 

https://www.aol.com/johnny-crawford-rifleman-star-dead-080725018.html

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WinnieWinkle

WinnieWinkle

(edited)

Aww that's sad.  I remember watching reruns of The Rifleman back when westerns ruled the airwaves.  75 is seeming younger and younger to me now.  RIP Mr Crawford.  I note Scott Baio claimed him as a friend and was saddened by his death.  I wonder if Baio accepts that Covid was one of the causes.

Edited by WinnieWinkle
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MissAlmond

MissAlmond

2 hours ago, Blergh said:

Johnny Crawford, who had played Mark McMain, the earnest but sometimes rebellious teenaged son of the intimidating yet fiercely protective  title character (played by baseball legend turned performer Chuck Connors) in The Rifleman (1958-1963) died April 29,2021 at age 75 with of complications of pneumonia, COVID-19 after having been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in 2019. What a sad, torturous way for his life to come to a close for him and his loved ones! I truly hope and pray he's resting in peace with his mind and body restored in the next world. Have I expressed lately how much I LOATHE Alzheimer's Disease  and COVID-19 (and pneumonia's also on my hit list)?! RIP, Mr. Crawford!

It wasn't that long ago Johnny Crawford was doing METV commercials promoting The Rifleman.  Sad to hear he was later diagnosed with Alzheimer's.   R.I.P. Mr. Crawford

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Blergh

Blergh

(edited)

Anne Buydens Douglas (born Hannelore Marx in Hanover, Weimer Republic) the widow of Kirk Douglas has died at age 102. While one be taken aback at the fact that she stayed married to him  for 66 years until his death in 2020- despite him being a notorious cheater for most of their marriage, what's far more important is that she was a generous philanthropist to many worthy causes including doing  much to help the homeless as well as the underprivileged children in their Los Angeles community. Sadly, the Douglases had the heartache of having their younger son  Eric die of an overdose at age 46 in 2004  after struggling with substance issues for many years despite his parents' best efforts.  In any case, her stepson Michael paid a touching tribute to how much the family has valued her over the years. 

https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2021/04/29/anne-douglas-philanthropist-and-widow-of-actor-kirk-douglas-dies-at-102/

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willco

willco

3 hours ago, Blergh said:

Anne Buydens Douglas (born Hannelore Marx in Hanover, Weimer Republic) the widow of Kirk Douglas has died at age 102. While one be taken aback at the fact that she stayed married to him  for 66 years until his death in 2020- despite him being a notorious cheater for most of their marriage, what's far more important is that she was a generous philanthropist to many worthy causes including doing  much to help the homeless as well as the underprivileged children in their Los Angeles community. Sadly, the Douglases had the heartache of having their younger son  Eric die of an overdose at age 46 in 2004  after struggling with substance issues for many years despite his parents' best efforts.  In any case, her stepson Michael paid a touching tribute to how much the family has valued her over the years. 

https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2021/04/29/anne-douglas-philanthropist-and-widow-of-actor-kirk-douglas-dies-at-102/

I always thought, maybe because they had been married so long, that Anne was Michael's birth Mother. I think I knew Kirk was married to Diana, but I had forgotten it. Kirk just died last year. Well Michael is 75, at least he had parents a long time . I don't know if that makes it harder or not-- both of mine were gone before I hit 40.

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Blergh

Blergh

(edited)
On 4/30/2021 at 8:45 AM, WinnieWinkle said:

Aww that's sad.  I remember watching reruns of The Rifleman back when westerns ruled the airwaves.  75 is seeming younger and younger to me now.  RIP Mr Crawford.  I note Scott Baio claimed him as a friend and was saddened by his death.  I wonder if Baio accepts that Covid was one of the causes.

Re Mr. Baio's claims? Well, IMO, they're about as believable as Barbara Walters's claims to have dozens of 'dear friends' culled from the celebs she pestered interviewed. I think it's likely most of not all the above  folks likely had bigger issues on their plates to deal with so they didn't feel it was worth doing more than to ignore these claims instead of openly disputing them. 

If Mr. Baio DID accept that re one of Mr. Crawford's causes of death, I wouldn't stand on one foot waiting for him to say so publicly. 

In any case, Mr. Crawford no longer has to deal with Mr. Baio (if he ever DID ,in fact, deal with him) so that's one small blessing. 

Edited by Blergh
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Bastet

Bastet

Damn.  I loved Olympia Dukakis in everything I ever saw her in.

On the bright side, she was 89, she worked up until the pandemic hit, it sounds like her health was good until her final months, and she died at home.  

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raven

raven

Loved her in Moonstruck.   The whole "your life's going down the toilet" line is one my friends and I quote BUT the way she says "It was a miracle" is low-key hilarious.  One of my fave scenes from one of my fave movies.

 

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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

(edited)

Ah man, Olympia Dukakis. She was always the meddling mother/mother-in-law you’d secretly love to have.

She was amazing as Miss Clairee in Steel Magnolias. Best part of the movie was when she tried to get Sally Field to hit Ouisa. I know we hadn’t heard much from her in a while, but I’ll miss her all the same.

Edited by Spartan Girl
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Popples

Popples

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My favorite saying from Steel Magnolias by Olympia Dukakis: "If you can't say anything nice about anybody, come sit by me!"

She was so great in that film.

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voiceover

voiceover

One of the most deserved Oscars (Best Supporting Actress, 1987, Moonstruck), ever:

"Cosmo, I just wantcha t'know: you're gonna die, just like everyone else."

That pinch she gave Loretta when Ronny showed up?  Watch Cher's face!  It was an improv, and it looked like it hurt 🤣

Farewell and Rest In Peace.  You were memorable -- and quietly hilarious -- in every role you played.

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Hiyo

Hiyo

(edited)

Interviewer: I saw that one critic described your character [in Cloudburst] as a foul-mouthed, lesbian Walter Matthau …

OD: Really? I love that! I hope it's true.

Edited by Hiyo
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MissAlmond

MissAlmond

Steel Magnolias was one of my comfort movies during lockdown.  Love the interaction between the ladies, especially Olympia Dukakis and Shirley McLaine.  From all accounts Ms. Dukakis and her late  husband, Louis Zorich, loved each other more than her luggage, so they're reunited.  R.I.P. dear lady. 

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Blergh

Blergh

12 hours ago, voiceover said:

One of the most deserved Oscars (Best Supporting Actress, 1987, Moonstruck), ever:

"Cosmo, I just wantcha t'know: you're gonna die, just like everyone else."

That pinch she gave Loretta when Ronny showed up?  Watch Cher's face!  It was an improv, and it looked like it hurt 🤣

Farewell and Rest In Peace.  You were memorable -- and quietly hilarious -- in every role you played.

I liked it when Miss Dukasis's character made those sumptuous Italian toasts for breakfast while her daughter was enumerating her romantic woes and, while she gave the best advice possible, she didn't miss a beat re those toasts AND told her father-in-law that if he fed his dogs any more of the breakfast that she'd just cooked, she'd kill him!  NOTHING but NOTHING was going to derail her breakfast! RIP, Miss Dukakis! It's not every performer who can believably juggle all those chainsaws while making a family breakfast even when the character herself was having to deal with her own angst!

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catlover79

catlover79

(edited)

I also loved Ms. Dukakis as the principal in Mr. Holland's Opus. It wasn't a particularly large or flashy role, but she gave it a lot of heart and gravitas. She and Richard Dreyfuss were wonderful together.

While watching reruns of the long-defunct NBC soap opera The Doctors on Retro TV, who should pop up as a daffy school guidance counselor in 1978 than Ms. Dukakis? See screen caps below. Her husband, Louis Zorich, also played a couple of bit parts on that show.

Speaking of Mr. Zorich, here's a great story about the long-married couple, taken from his 2018 obit in the NY Times:

In 1991 Mr. Zorich spoke of the one play he and Ms. Dukakis had done that he would not want to revisit: Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” They played George and Martha, the warring couple at the play’s center, in a 1979 production in Montclair and, he said, had gotten a little too into their characters.

After playing the show for a few weeks, he said, he marched into her dressing room and asked, “Why are you going after me like that?,” only to hear her explain that she was merely playing the role. After another week or two, she confronted him with the same sort of accusation.

“I’ll never forget that,” he said. “We almost got divorced.”

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Edited by catlover79
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legaleagle53

legaleagle53

1 minute ago, catlover79 said:

I also loved Ms. Dukakis as the principal in Mr. Holland's Opus. It wasn't a particularly large or flashy role, but she gave it a lot of heart and gravitas. She and Richard Dreyfuss were wonderful together.

While watching reruns of the long-defunct NBC soap opera The Doctors on Retro TV, who should pop up as a daffy school guidance counselor in 1978 than Ms. Dukakis? See screen caps below. Her husband, Louis Zorich, also played a couple of bit parts on that show.

Speaking of Mr. Zurich, here's a great story about the long-married couple, taken from his 2018 obit in the NY Times:

In 1991 Mr. Zorich spoke of the one play he and Ms. Dukakis had done that he would not want to revisit: Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” They played George and Martha, the warring couple at the play’s center, in a 1979 production in Montclair and, he said, had gotten a little too into their characters.

After playing the show for a few weeks, he said, he marched into her dressing room and asked, “Why are you going after me like that?,” only to hear her explain that she was merely playing the role. After another week or two, she confronted him with the same sort of accusation.

“I’ll never forget that,” he said. “We almost got divorced.”

Wow. There's "method acting," and then there's THAT!

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catlover79

catlover79

Just now, legaleagle53 said:

Wow. There's "method acting," and then there's THAT!

Yeah, it's probably not the best show for real-life couples to do (see also: Liz Taylor and Richard Burton). 😳😳😳😳😳

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Bastet

Bastet

7 minutes ago, catlover79 said:

Yeah, it's probably not the best show for real-life couples to do (see also: Liz Taylor and Richard Burton). 😳😳😳😳😳

Even worse on stage than on screen - it has nothing to do with any particular acting process, just the inevitable result of inhabiting those characters and experiences night after night. 

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catlover79

catlover79

1 minute ago, Bastet said:

Even worse on stage than on screen - it has nothing to do with any particular acting process, just the inevitable result of inhabiting those characters and experiences night after night. 

Yup, and in that particular show you have to really "get ugly". If that's your real-life partner going after you on stage, it would be that much rougher to let it go.

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Inquisitionist

Inquisitionist

On 5/1/2021 at 2:43 PM, Bastet said:

Damn.  I loved Olympia Dukakis in everything I ever saw her in.

On the bright side, she was 89, she worked up until the pandemic hit, it sounds like her health was good until her final months, and she died at home.  

A friend of mine had Olympia as an acting coach when she studied at NYU in the late 1970s.  A friend of hers said that Olympia had developed dementia and had recently entered hospice.  An all-too-familiar ending to long lives these days.  😪

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Blergh

Blergh

2 minutes ago, Inquisitionist said:

A friend of mine had Olympia as an acting coach when she studied at NYU in the late 1970s.  A friend of hers said that Olympia had developed dementia and had recently entered hospice.  An all-too-familiar ending to long lives these days.  😪

ARGH!! I hate that so many brilliant, lively and fun folks get destroyed from the inside out via dementias while their poor loved ones can only try to make them as comfortable as possible but, otherwise unable to do anything to stop the tragic end. How AWFUL for Miss Dukakis and her poor family!


BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  Dementia!!!!

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WinnieWinkle

WinnieWinkle

12 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

As a '70s kid, this was my first exposure to the Krofft brothers' insanity. R.I.P.

Same here.  I can still sing the entire theme song from H,R, Pufnstuf.  I am not proud.  Just stating a fact.  I adored Witchiepoo - totally agreed with the comment in your attached article - I rooted for her!

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Blergh

Blergh

What's odd is that there seems to have been some discrepancies re when Miss Hayes was actually born. Some sites say she was born in 1933 but her obit says she was born in 1925 and just celebrated her 96th birthday.  

Well, even if Miss Hayes believed that age was a number which she wanted to keep unlisted, she sure was quite memorable. Oh, and she got to work with (and befriend) Margaret Hamilton and traded notes on how others viewed their 'witchiness' and both were surprisingly short women who played unforgettable roles but Witchiepoo WAS a bit broader than  Wicked Witch of the West! Oh and it should be noted that her the late Jack Wild sang her praises as being a great talent and the  glue who held that entire crazy production together (but then again, she was the only other regular cast member not entirely enveloped in a costume despite the two playing arch-foes).  RIP, Miss Hayes. 

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WinnieWinkle

WinnieWinkle

3 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Oh and it should be noted that her the late Jack Wild sang her praises

Dammit, how did I miss knowing this?  I had such a crush on him back in the day.  Thanks to 16 and Tiger Beat I also had "personally autographed" posters on my wall.  

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MissAlmond

MissAlmond

1 hour ago, AimingforYoko said:

Not Witchiepoo!

H.R. Pufnstuf as a kid was my Saturday morning jam!  Sad to hear of BIllie Hayes' passing but glad she had a long life.   R.I.P. Ms. Hayes.  You were wonderful!

 

1 hour ago, WinnieWinkle said:

I can still sing the entire theme song from H,R, Pufnstuf.

Just for you Winniewinkle, memories to light the Krofft corners of your mind:

 

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Hiyo

Hiyo

Ray Reyes, Former Member of Menudo, Dead at 51.

Ray Reyes was raised in Puerto Rico. He joined Menudo in 1983 and stayed with the group through the height of its success. The band is widely considered one of the biggest Latin boy bands in history.

His first album with the boy band was A Todo Rock, on which he sang lead vocals for three songs: "Si Tu No Estas," "Chicle De Amor," and "Zumbador." Though his first stint with Menudo only lasted two years, it coincided with those of Ricky Martin and Draco Rosa.

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WinnieWinkle

WinnieWinkle

12 hours ago, MissAlmond said:

Just for you Winniewinkle, memories to light the Krofft corners of your mind:

Thank you!  What a lovely way to start my morning.  I hope Miss Hayes enjoyed her connection with Witchiepoo and realised she made  a lot of little kids smile!

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Blergh

Blergh

59 minutes ago, WinnieWinkle said:

Thank you!  What a lovely way to start my morning.  I hope Miss Hayes enjoyed her connection with Witchiepoo and realised she made  a lot of little kids smile!

Miss Hayes sure DID .

She told the story of when she was shooting the series, someone brought a tiny child to the set (not sure why) but after Witchiepoo had something backfire on her again and threw a tantrum over it, after the shooting was done, this child came up to her and asked 'Witchiepoo, would you like a hug?'. 

 Yes, she was quite touched by the child's concern for her and realized from that moment on that, as a performer, she couldn't take for granted children's reactions to the performances because they believed in the characters!

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WinnieWinkle

WinnieWinkle

(edited)
24 minutes ago, Terrafamilia said:

Dancer and choreographer Jacques d'Amboise died May 2nd.

 

I know him really only for his role as Ephraim in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - definitely could tell he was a fabulous dancer when you watch him.  Recently saw an interview with Russ Tamblyn who was also featured in Seven Brides.  Somehow though I just can't watch that movie anymore - I love the dance sequences and many of the songs, but the basic storyline just bothers me now in a way it didn't back in the day.  

ETA:  Out of interest I just checked on the other brothers and with one exception all the brothers lived (or are living) well into their 80s and one made it to a 100.  Dancing may be the secret to longevity!

Edited by WinnieWinkle
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