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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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TVFan17

TVFan17

(edited)
11 minutes ago, BetterButter said:

George A. Romero, 'Night of the Living Dead' creator, dies at 77

I would say that this one is probably a huge loss in the horror movie fandom.  If not for Night of the Living Dead, I think it is safe to say we would not have a mega-hit juggernaut TV series such as The Walking Dead today.

Edited by TVFan17
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Rosiejuliemom

Rosiejuliemom

24 minutes ago, TVFan17 said:

I would say that this one is probably a huge loss in the horror movie fandom.  If not for Night of the Living Dead, I think it is safe to say we would not have a mega-hit juggernaut TV series such as The Walking Dead today.

Probably one of the biggest losses in horror since Wes Craven. If not bigger. Romero is almost single-handedly responsible for the modern idea of a zombie.

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VCRTracking

VCRTracking

"They're coming to get you Barbara!"

RIP. Every interview I've seen of George Romero he seemed like a very sweet, nice man.

 

1 hour ago, Rosiejuliemom said:
1 hour ago, TVFan17 said:

I would say that this one is probably a huge loss in the horror movie fandom.  If not for Night of the Living Dead, I think it is safe to say we would not have a mega-hit juggernaut TV series such as The Walking Dead today.

Probably one of the biggest losses in horror since Wes Craven. If not bigger. Romero is almost single-handedly responsible for the modern idea of a zombie.

Wikipedia and I agree:
 

Quote

 

The modern conception of the zombie owes itself almost entirely to George A. Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead.[1][49][50] In his films, Romero "bred the zombie with the vampire, and what he got was the hybrid vigour of a ghoulish plague monster".[51] This entailed an apocalyptic vision of monsters that have come to be known as Romero zombies.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times chided theater owners and parents who allowed children access to the film. "I don't think the younger kids really knew what hit them," complained Ebert. "They were used to going to movies, sure, and they'd seen some horror movies before, sure, but this was something else." According to Ebert, the film affected the audience immediately:

"The kids in the audience were stunned. There was almost complete silence. The movie had stopped being delightfully scary about halfway through, and had become unexpectedly terrifying. There was a little girl across the aisle from me, maybe nine years old, who was sitting very still in her seat and crying."[52]

Romero's reinvention of zombies is notable in terms of its thematics; he used zombies not just for their own sake, but as a vehicle "to criticize real-world social ills—such as government ineptitude, bioengineering, slavery, greed and exploitation—while indulging our post-apocalyptic fantasies".[53] Night was the first of six films in Romero's Living Dead series. Its first sequel, Dawn of the Dead, was released in 1978.

Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2 was released just months after Dawn of the Dead as an ersatz sequel (Dawn of the Dead was released in several other countries as Zombi or Zombie).[1]

 

TWD should have paid him royalties.

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legaleagle53

legaleagle53

(edited)
2 minutes ago, VCRTracking said:

Mission Impossible, Space: 1999, North By Northwest, Tucker: A Man and His Dream, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Ed Wood. Amazing in all. RIP.

 

But interestingly, not Star Trek.  Apparently, he was the first choice for Spock, but he passed on the role because he felt it would be too confining and "the antithesis of why [he] became an actor."

Edited by legaleagle53
VCRTracking

VCRTracking

(edited)
18 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

But interestingly, not Star Trek.  Apparently, he was the first choice for Spock, but he passed on the role because he felt it would be too confining and "the antithesis of why [he] became an actor."

Ironically, after Star Trek was cancelled and Leonard Nimoy joined Mission Impossible after Landau left(along with wife co-star Barbara Bain over a contract disute), he felt just as frustrated after a while playing his replacement, master of disguise "The Great Paris". At first he was excited at the idea of playing a different character as a disguise each week, but by his second season he started to get tired of playing the same types(Latin American dictator, old man, Japanese, etc) and there was also no character development or "internal life" to them so he asked to be let go.

Edited by VCRTracking
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millennium

millennium

Commander Koenig!   How shall Moonbase Alpha survive now?

I was a geeky teen who watched every episode of Space 1999 and even built a scale model of Moonbase Alpha on a piece of plywood in my basement with lots and lots of Plaster of Paris and a string of Christmas lights to illuminate the interior of the structures.   In fact, I forgot all about that until I saw Martin Landau had died.

I remember when I was a little older, how embarrassed I was for him and Barbara Bain when they appeared in The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island.   It was their last appearance together.

At least he was able to reclaim his dignity with Crimes and Misdemeanors.

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DollEyes

DollEyes

(edited)

Landau was also great as one of the villains in Alfred Hitchcock's North By Northwest. 

However, my favorite Martin Landau role is his Oscar-winning performance in Ed Wood,  which is one of Johnny Depp & Tim Burton's best movies and Landau's Bela Lugosi is one of the reasons.

George Romero is another huge loss. The horror genre has changed for the better because of him & it won't be the same without him.

RIP, gentlemen. You not only told great stories onscreen, your lives off screen were just as rich, complex & fascinating.

Edited by DollEyes
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DearEvette

DearEvette

Aw. RIP Martin and George.

I have a soft spot for Martin Landau in Mission Impossible.  That show kick started my love for anything that featured a  'long con.'  I just thought the entire cast was ridiculously sexy.  I loved that Barbara Bain's character was named 'Cinnamon.'  I followed both of them to Space 1999.

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BW Manilowe

BW Manilowe

1 hour ago, legaleagle53 said:

But interestingly, not Star Trek.  Apparently, he was the first choice for Spock, but he passed on the role because he felt it would be too confining and "the antithesis of why [he] became an actor."

Oddly enough, Martin Landau did eventually end up starring in a sci-fi space travel show of his own. Anyone besides me remember Space: 1999?

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legaleagle53

legaleagle53

(edited)
7 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:

Oddly enough, Martin Landau did eventually end up starring in a sci-fi space travel show of his own. Anyone besides me remember Space: 1999?

Only everyone who's mentioned it so far in this thread (and yes, I remember it very well!).  :-)

But it's also interesting that Martin Landau passed on Spock for exactly the same reason that Leonard Nimoy grew to hate being associated with the part for so many years after Trek ended.  One of the things an actor dreads the most is being typecast, and that's what Martin Landau wanted to avoid at all costs.  He felt that Spock would have been too limiting as a character and he also must have instinctively known that people would have a hard time seeing him play anything else (he said he'd have been playing Spock "forever" if he'd accepted the role), and Leonard Nimoy felt the same way for a long time and went out of his way to distance himself from the role. He even wrote a book titled "I Am Not Spock," but eventually realized that he couldn't fight the inevitable, so he later wrote a second book titled "Maybe I AM Spock After All."

I'll bet they're both laughing together over it now.

Edited by legaleagle53
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BW Manilowe

BW Manilowe

6 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

Only everyone who's mentioned it so far in this thread (and yes, I remember it very well!).  :-)

But it's also interesting that Martin Landau passed on Spock for exactly the same reason that Leonard Nimoy grew to hate being associated with the part for so many years after Trek ended.  One of the things an actor dreads the most is being typecast, and that's what Martin Landau wanted to avoid at all costs.  He felt that Spock would have been too limiting as a character and he also must have instinctively known that people would have a hard time seeing him play anything else (he said he'd have been playing Spock "forever" if he'd accepted the role), and Leonard Nimoy felt the same way for a long time and went out of his way to distance himself from the role. He even wrote a book titled "I Am Not Spock," but eventually realized that he couldn't fight the inevitable, so he later wrote a second book titled "Maybe I AM Spock After All."

I'll bet they're both laughing together over it now.

I went to get the link to the show's Wikipedia page & got started reading it instead of coming right back to post about it. That's how some of the posts ended up mentioning it before mine asking if it was remembered was posted. I think my (younger) brother had anything & everything you could find, merchandise-wise, about Space: 1999 (& about a lot of other sci-fi series back in the day).

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willco

willco

Wow, I saw it mentioned on the tv news about Landau but not Romero. A small role Landau did that probably no one remembers, but I thought he did a great job, was as Jack Malone's father on "Without a Trace". His character was developing early stage Alzheimer's and, having known a few people that had that, I thought he played it quite realistic. They didn't go too deep with it, but in one of his last episodes, they are having a Christmas party at the FBI office ( not sure how realistic 'that' is, but anyway) Jack hadn't gotten back from doing something and Landau says something to one of the agents like, "I'm worried about Jack". He paused for a minute & then said "Maybe the army will do him some good". It's then clear that a past memory has become a present concern to him. We know from Jack's history on the show that he did, in fact, go into the army, so it fit.

 

I vaguely remember the old Mission Impossible, but I never saw it on it's original run & I guess it was never in reruns when I was younger. Seen a few but it's been a while.

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MissAlmond

MissAlmond

(edited)
10 hours ago, roseha said:

I loved Martin Landau on Mission Impossible.  I guess I was in my early teens or so when it was on.  I was always sad that he and Barbara Bain left the show so early on.

Mission Impossible!  Where writers managed to spin complicated plots in weekly episodes that today's writers require an entire season.  I need to pull out my Season 1 DVD again in tribute.  Only Cinnamon (Bain) and Willie (Peter Lupus) left of the original cast.  RIP, Mr. Landau. 

Edited by MissAlmond
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BW Manilowe

BW Manilowe

13 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

His daughter with Barbara Bain, Juliet Landau, I know and love as Druscilla from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

martin-landau-and-juliet-landau.jpg

According to his obit they also have another daughter, Susie, who's a writer. Just making sure she's not forgotten in all this because her sister is better known.

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VCRTracking

VCRTracking

(edited)

Oh I know. I just only found pictures of the girls with their mom, Barbara Bain.

Landau was also best friends with James Dean when they were young actors in NYC. Landau said of Dean: "Jimmy looked like the 'boy-next-door' but was the complete opposite".

faf37abe1401d03c8acf54f72db53608.jpg

james-dean_martin-landau.jpg

article-0-0DD6EEF100000578-389_634x423.j

Great article uploaded by Vanity Fair about Landau's early days struggling in NYC in the 50s, hanging out with Dean, Steve McQueen and dating Marilyn Monroe!

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/07/martin-landau-marilyn-monroe

Edited by VCRTracking
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Blergh

Blergh

1 hour ago, BW Manilowe said:

From People: 

Susie Landau Finch (Martin Landau's "other" daughter) remembers life with her dad

Barbara Bain, Martin Landau's co-star & ex-wife, remembers him

For Miss Bain to have such warm recollections and praises for him beyond simply being her daughters' father, even though their marriage ended in divorce , show what class acts both of them must have been !RIP, Mr. Landau

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roamyn

roamyn

On 7/16/2017 at 10:02 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Damn, George Romero AND Martin Landau on the same day?!

RIP, dear gentlemen.

 My beloved puppy died on Saturday, too.  After an quick downfall of one day.  And only 8 yrs old.

She's the one on the left in my picture.  Daisy, on the right passed five years ago.

 I enjoyed Martin Landau's acting, but while I'd normally be saddened by his passing, I'm too heartbroken by my own loss.  Sorry Sir.

RIP Lily.

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BW Manilowe

BW Manilowe

(edited)

 

On 6/8/2017 at 4:38 PM, BW Manilowe said:

Former Buffalo Bills Wide Receiver James Hardy III (he played for them in 2008 & 2009), who's from my hometown (& was a former local high school football--& basketball--star), was found dead in a local river yesterday afternoon.

http://www.wpta21.com/story/35621291/coroner-identifies-man-found-in-maumee-river-as-former-nfl-player

EDITING TO ADD: Hardy was 31. He also played for the Baltimore Ravens, from which he was released in 2011. Our local news says he didn't necessarily commit suicide; he could've fallen into the river, had a medical emergency resulting in falling into the river, or gotten in there some other way. They've done tests which'll take a few weeks to get the results back, which they hope may shed more light on/clarify the cause of death. However, local news also says his mother reported him missing around May 30th.

The death of former NFL player James Hardy III, who was from my hometown & was found dead in a local river in early June (see my original post quoted immediately above) has, sadly, been ruled: Cause of Death--Asphyxia due to drowning; Manner of Death--Suicide (see Tweet from my local NBC affiliate with embedded copy of our Coroner's Office's press release giving his investigator's findings in Hardy's death at the top of the post).

Edited by BW Manilowe
To add a word.
Drogo

Drogo

2 hours ago, amaranta said:

Linkin Park leader singer Chester Bennington has committed suicide.

Somewhere I Belong and Numb were like the soundtrack to my 2000s.

Bennington was also friends with Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots); it's only been a year and a half since he passed.

Damn.

He tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end,  it doesn't even matter.

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MaggieG

MaggieG

48 minutes ago, amaranta said:

Linkin Park leader singer Chester Bennington has committed suicide.

Somewhere I Belong and Numb were like the soundtrack to my 2000s.

Bennington was also friends with Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots); it's only been a year and a half since he passed.

Damn.

Wow, me too, I listened to those songs on repeat. I've seen LP in concert about 4 times. That's very sad. I read that he left behind 6 children.

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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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