Leslie Nielsen Has Died at 84
(CNN) -- Leslie Nielsen, whose longtime career as a dramatic actor took a sudden turn into comedy with spoofs like "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun," has died at age 84, his family said Sunday.
The Canadian-born Nielsen's career reached back into the early days of television, when he made frequent appearances on live drama series like "Goodyear Playhouse." He played the earnest starship captain in the 1956 science fiction classic "Forbidden Planet" and made regular appearances on a wide range of TV dramas into the 1970s.
Much of that changed in 1980, when he was cast as a doctor aboard an endangered jetliner in the gag-a-minute disaster-movie parody "Airplane!" Nielsen's deadpan delivery of lines like "I am serious -- and don't call me Shirley" helped launch a second career.
The film's producers went on to cast him in their short-lived television series "Police Squad!" and had him reprise that show's bumbling lead character, Lt. Frank Drebin, a decade later in three "Naked Gun" movies. Nielsen appeared in several similar but less-acclaimed spoofs following those films.
Nielsen died of complications of pneumonia in a hospital near his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, surrounded by family and friends, a family statement said.
Dino De Laurentiis Has Died at 91
Legendary producer Dino De Laurentiis has died at the age of 91.
by Simon Reynolds
Digital Spy - De Laurentiis, whose career in cinema spanned more than 70 years and 160 movies, passed away in Los Angeles, according to Italian media reports.
De Laurentiis established himself as one of Italy's leading post-war producers, working on neorealist films and collaborating with Federico Fellini on La Strada (1954), for which he shared a 'Best Foreign Language' film Oscar with Carlo Ponti, and Nights of Cabiria (1956).
Jill Clayburgh, Oscar Nominee, Has Died at 66
Oscar nominee Jill Clayburgh has died at 66
By Mark Englehart
IMDB - Jill Clayburgh, the Oscar-nominated actress whose portrayal of suddenly single women in the 1970s helped define feminism in movies and reshape the role of leading lady, died today at her home in Lakeville, Conneticut; she was 66.
A stage actress who started appearing onscreen in the 70s, she suddenly became the "It Girl" -- or rather, "It Woman" -- with her acclaimed performance as an upper-class Manhattan wife suddenly left by her husband in the comedy-drama, An Unmarried Woman. For a brief time one of Hollywood's most recognizable actresses in both comedy and drama, her career took a rapid decline in the 80s before she resuscitated her career with a number of television and film roles. Still, despite her career ups and downs, she remained one of the most important actresses of the 70s, alongside Jane Fonda, Glenda Jackson, Diane Keaton, and the young Meryl Streep (with whom she was friends)--women whose films were marked by their portrayals of strong, independent women who didn't need a man to complete their lives and were prepared to take a stand by doing so.
Born in New York City to a manufacturing executive father and a mother who was the production secretary for theatrical producer David Merrick, Clayburgh had a privileged Upper EastSide upbringing, attending the noted Brearley Academy and then Sarah Lawrence College. After joining the Charles Street Repertory Theater in Boston, she worked primarily onstage, moving to Broadway for such shows as Pippin and The Rothschilds.
Academy Award nominee Tony Curtis dead at 85
From Variety:
By RICHARD NATALE
Tony Curtis, leading man of the 1950s and '60s who gave impressive perfs in comedies such as "Some Like It Hot" and "The Great Race" as well as dramas including "Sweet Smell of Success" and "The Defiant Ones," died Wednesday at his home near Las Vegas of cardiac arrest. He was 85.
His daughter, actress Jamie Lee Curtis, said in a statement to the Associated Press: "My father leaves behind a legacy of great performances in movies and in his paintings and assemblages. He leaves behind children and their families who loved him and respected him and a wife and in-laws who were devoted to him. He also leaves behind fans all over the world."
Oscar Winner Patricia Neal Dies at 84
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Patricia Neal, the willowy, husky-voiced actress who won an Academy Award for 1963's "Hud" and then survived several strokes to continue acting, died on Sunday. She was 84.
Neal had lung cancer and died at her home in Edgartown, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard, said longtime friend Bud Albers of Knoxville.
Neal was already an award-winning Broadway actress when she won her Oscar for her role as a housekeeper to the Texas father (Melvyn Douglas) battling his selfish, amoral son (Paul Newman).
Less than two years later, she suffered a series of strokes in 1965 at age 39. Her struggle to regain walking and talking is regarded as epic in the annals of stroke rehabilitation. She returned to the screen to earn another Oscar nomination and three Emmy nominations.
Senator Robert Byrd has Died
This has been a bad couple of years for the Democrats. First Ted Kennedy, now Robert Byrd. The Old Guard is vanishing. Rest in Peace.
Robert Byrd, longest-serving member of Congress, dead at 92
By the CNN Wire Staff (CNN) -- West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd, the self-educated son of a coal miner who became the longest-serving member of Congress, died early Monday at age 92, the senator's office said.
Byrd, a nine-term Democrat, was known as a master of the chamber's often-arcane rules and as the self-proclaimed "champion of the Constitution," a jealous guardian of congressional power.
His speeches were laced with references to poetry and the Greek and Roman classics, often punctuated by the brandishing of his pocket copy of the national charter.
Director Ronald Neame has died at 99
By Daniel Kilkelly, Entertainment Reporter
(Source: Digital Spy) Film director Ronald Neame has died at the age of 99, it has been announced.
The British star, most notable for helming 1972 movie The Poseidon Adventure, passed away in hospital in Los Angeles on Wednesday, BBC News reports.
Family friend and BBC correspondent Peter Bowes said that the filmmaker never recovered after suffering a fall.
Along with The Poseidon Adventure, Neame's directing credits include 1958's The Horse's Mouth and 1969's The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, which earned Maggie Smith a 'Best Actress' Oscar.
He had earlier worked as a cinematographer on a number of films, and also had screenwriting duties on 1945's Brief Encounter and 1946's Great Expectations.
Neame was awarded a CBE for his contribution to the film industry in 1996.
Rue McClanahan Dies at 76
Although she never had quite the success of Bea Arthur, Betty White or Estelle Getty, she was still a grand and impressive part of one of the most influential programs of the 1980s. Betty White is now the sole remaining member of the original cast and I'm sure it can't be easy to outlive those she spent eight years working with. To Rue's family and friends, my heartfelt condolences.
By Alan Duke, (CNN) - Emmy-winning "Golden Girls" actress Rue McClanahan died of a stroke in a New York hospital early Thursday, her manager said. She was 76.
McClanahan's family surrounded her bed when she died at New York Presbyterian Hospital, according to manager Barbara Lawrence.
The actress' career began on the New York stage in the 1950s, but her long television career was first boosted when producer Norman Lear cast McClanahan in his hit CBS series "All in the Family" in 1971. She appeared in Lear's "Maude" a year later.
Her most memorable TV role was as Southern belle Blanche Devereaux on "The Golden Girls," which ran from 1985 through 1992. McClanahan won an Emmy for best lead actress in a comedy in 1987.
Dennis Hopper Has Died
By Todd Leopold (CNN) - Dennis Hopper, the one-time Hollywood enfant terrible who portrayed such indelible characters as "Easy Rider's" biker Billy, "Blue Velvet's" huffing villain Frank Booth and "Hoosiers' " forlorn Shooter Flatch, died of prostate cancer Saturday morning at his home in Venice, California, his wife said. He was 74.
There was Dennis Hopper before "Easy Rider," generally known as a clean-cut, if rebellious, character actor who had built a career of supporting roles in Westerns, youth-oriented films and TV shows.
There was Dennis Hopper after "Easy Rider," for years one of Hollywood's wild men, an actor with a penchant for alcohol, drugs and outlandish behavior, and later a go-to performer to play villains and commanding misfits.
And then there was "Easy Rider," the 1969 film that he directed and co-wrote, and in which he played a dissolute, countercultural biker named Billy. Thanks to the film, Hopper helped blaze a trail for the young, aggressive filmmakers who would take Hollywood by storm in the 1970s.
R.I.P. Gary Coleman
Although he was never one of those actors I gravitated towards after I grew up, he was invariably a part of my childhood. His starring role on Diff'rent Strokes was significantly influential on pop culture at the time, his "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" phrase forever entering the mainstream. I still use the phrase to this day, much to the chagrin of those who have no idea of its origins. But, I do wish his loved ones the best in this hour of sorrow.
By Todd Leopold - (CNN) Former child star Gary Coleman, who rose to fame as the wisecracking youngster Arnold Jackson on the TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" but grew up to grapple with a troubled adulthood, has died. He was 42.
"We are very sad to have to report Mr. Gary Coleman has passed away," his spokesman, John Alcantar, said in a statement Friday afternoon. "He was removed from life support; soon thereafter, he passed quickly and peacefully. By Gary's bedside were his wife and other close family members."
Coleman died of a brain hemorrhage at a Provo, Utah, hospital, according to a hospital spokeswoman. The actor fell ill at his Santaquin, Utah, home Wednesday evening and was rushed by ambulance to a hospital, Coleman's spokesman had said earlier Friday.
He was then taken to another hospital -- Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo -- later Wednesday night.
Lena Horne Has Died at 92
This one hits especially hard for me. She was a wonderful singer and presence, always proving to be one of my favorites. Her husky voice was one of her many attributes. She had compassion, strength and courage, standing up against stereotype and prejudice while winning over the hearts of millions.
Legendary singer, actress Lena Horne dead at 92
By Alan Duke, CNN
May 10, 2010 7:11 a.m. EDT
(CNN) -- Singer, dancer and actress Lena Horne died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Sunday night, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Horne was 92.
She was one of the first African-Americans to sign a long-term movie contract with a major Hollywood studio when she joined MGM in 1942.
Lynn Redgrave dies at 67
NEW YORK – Lynn Redgrave, an introspective and independent player in her family's acting dynasty who became a 1960s sensation as the freethinking title character of "Georgy Girl" and later dramatized her troubled past in such one-woman stage performances as "Shakespeare for My Father" and "Nightingale," has died. She was 67.
Her publicist Rick Miramontez, speaking on behalf of her children, said Redgrave died peacefully Sunday night at her home in Connecticut. Children Ben, Pema and Annabel were with her, as were close friends.
"Our beloved mother Lynn Rachel passed away peacefully after a seven year journey with breast cancer," Redgrave's children said in a statement Monday. "She lived, loved and worked harder than ever before. The endless memories she created as a mother, grandmother, writer, actor and friend will sustain us for the rest of our lives. Our entire family asks for privacy through this difficult time."
Her death comes a year after her niece Natasha Richardson died from head injuries sustained in a skiing accident and just a month after the death of her older brother, Corin Redgrave.
Italian Screenwriter Furio Scarpelli has died
If you aren't familiar with The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, then you may not be that familiar with Furio Scarpelli (and possibly living under a rock). The Oscar-nominated writer who penned the classic Clint Eastwood western received three nominations in his career for writing the following screenplays: The Organizer in 1964, Casanova '70 in 1965 and Il Postino in 1995. He had more than 140 credits to his name.
Here's the obituary from Variety:
Italian scribe Scarpelli dies
Oscar-nommed writer of 'Il Postino,' 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'
By NICK VIVARELLI
R.I.P. Dede Allen
Film pioneer Dede Allen dies at 86
Editor cut 'Bonnie and Clyde,' 'Reds'
(Variety) - Pioneering film editor Dede Allen, who helped shape classic films including "Bonnie and Clyde," died Saturday after suffering a stroke. She was 86.
Allen, who brought a fresh approach to shaping the look and sound of American movies, was Oscar-nommed for her work on 1975's "Dog Day Afternoon," 1981's "Reds" (shared with Craig McKay) and 2000's "Wonder Boys."
Born Dorothea Corothers Allen in Cincinnati to an actress mother, Allen quit college for showbiz nearly 55 years ago. Starting out as a messenger at Columbia, she worked her way up to assistant film editor. The first major pic she cut was Robert Wise's "Odds Against Tomorrow" in 1959. Wise, who himself began as an editor, mentored Allen, who became the first editor to get an exclusive title card on a film, for "Bonnie and Clyde."
Allen was the first American to embrace European methods of editing by beginning sequences with closeups or jump cuts and overlapping sound from one shot to another, a trick she learned from cutting commercials.
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‘Designing Women’ Star Dixie Carter Dead at 70
(CNN) -- Actress Dixie Carter, best known for her role as Julia Sugarbaker on the TV show "Designing Women," has died, her agent said Saturday. She was 70.
No other details were provided.
Carter was drawn to roles portraying steely Southern women. One of her more recent roles included a guest appearance on the show "Desperate Housewives," for which she was nominated for an Emmy in 2007.
"This has been a terrible blow to our family," her husband, the actor Hal Holbrook, told "Entertainment Tonight." "We would appreciate everyone understanding that this is a private family tragedy."
Carter and Holbrook met while filming the CBS-TV movie, "The Killing of Randy Webster."
Carter was born in 1939 in McLemoresville, Tennessee. In addition to her role as feisty Julia Sugarbaker, she's been on other television series including "Family Law" and "Diff'rent Strokes."
She also had a long career on Broadway and appeared on stage in "Southern Comforts" with her husband in 2006.
In addition to Holbrook, to whom she has been married since 1984, Carter is survived by two daughters, Mary Dixie and Ginna.
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