Sunday, March 22, 2015

Walter Grauman

Director of film and TV -- via . A pulp master -- one of the most prolific talents on TV, here's just a sample of some of his work -- Film: "Lady in a Cage," "633 Squadron" (from which George Lucas stole the attack on the Death Star scene in "Star Wars"), and "A Rage to Live" . . .







TV: The pilots for "The Fugitive," "The Streets of San Francisco," "Barnaby Jones," and "Honey West"; episodes of "Columbo," "TheUntouchables," "Naked City," "Route 66," and "Murder, She Wrote"; and many TV movies and miniseries as well.












Jim Berry


Cartoonist; creator of "Berry's World" -- via the National Cartoonists Society. He produced more than six one-panel syndicated cartoons a week and a larger color bit on Sundays, for 40 years. Never missed a deadline.





Ralph Taeger

Actor -- via the Hollywood Reporter.

Jackie Trent

Singer and songwriter -- via the BBC. AKA Yvonne Burgess.





Paul Jeffrey

Saxophonist and composer -- via Duke Today.



Thursday, March 19, 2015

Louis Silverstone

Judith Bustany

Samuel Charters

Robert X. Modica

Acting teacher and actor -- via Yahoo News.

Danny Lermer

Producer and director -- via Variety.

Buddy Elias

Eusebiu Stefanescu

Actor -- via agerpres.ro.

Miguel Donoso Pareja

Writer -- via La Republica.

Shaw Taylor

TV and radio host and actor -- via the Daily Mail. The iconic face of Police 5, an early crime-stopping segment. His tag line: "Keep 'em peeled!"

David Maxwell

Pianist -- via the Boston Globe.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Robert Rosenblum

Writer -- via legacy.com. AKA Nicholas Condei, Johanna Kingsley, Jessica March, Jeanne Day Lord, and other nom de plumes.


Luciano Ercoli

Director and producer -- via Starburst Magazine.



Janice Rebibo

Poet -- via the Jewish Journal.

Krishna Kalle

Playback singer -- via the Business Standard.

Magda Guzman

Actress -- via Vanguardia. AKA Maria Magdalena Guzman Garza.

Bob Anderson

Former MLB player -- via Tulsa World. He was involved in the crazy play on June 30, 1959, when Stan Musial was put out by two baseballs, perhaps the first and only time this has happened in major league history.


Harri Pritchard Jones

Writer -- via the BBC.

Ada Jafri

Poet -- via The News Teller. AKA Aziz Jahan.

Inger Sitter

Artist - via aftenposten.no.

Meena Shah

Badminton champion -- via the Times of India.

Ib Melchior

Novelist, short-story writer, director, producer, and screenwriter -- via the Hollywood Reporter. A fascinating life. He was the son of famed Danish heldentenor Lauritz Melchior. He was a decorated counterintelligence officer in World War II; he helped liberate the Flossenburg concentration camp, discovered a Nazi gold hoard, and captured a German Werwolf unit.

He wrote many adventure novels, but it's his work in film that made the biggest impact. After some work in American television, he started writing sci-fi scripts -- "The Angry Red Planet," "Robinson Crusoe on Mars," "Reptilicus," "Journey to the Seventh Planet," and "The Time Travelers." He also wrote the English translation of Bava's "Planet of the Vampires."

Most importantly, his story "The Racer" became the film "Death Race 2000"; his idea for a "Space Family Robinson" was stolen by Irwin Allen and became "Lost in Space."

While many of his films may be regarded as cheesy, Melchior's imagination fueled my own as a child. These crude space operas and monster stories, many of them adaptations of classic literary sources, helped give sci-fi some momentum as it moved from being merely "kiddie fare" to a gerne that could handle adult, complex themes.













Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Andy Fraser

Bassist, singer, and songwriter; co-founder of Free -- via Classic Rock. He started playing with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers when he was 15; a year later he helped found Free. He co-wrote "All Right Now" and wrote "Every Kinda People."



Paul Kalanithi

Writer and neurosurgeon -- via Stanford Medicine.

Brian Sutton-Smith

Jerry Brightman

Pedal steel guitarist -- via tasteofcountry.com.

Narayan Desai

Activist and author -- via the Economic Times.




Ana Maria Giunta

Actress -- via pagina12.com.ar.

Bruce Crump

Mike Porcaro

Lia van Leer

Liezl Martinez

Actress -- via ABS-CBN News.

S. Siddalingaiah

Film director -- via the Indian Express.

Monday, March 16, 2015

William "Billy" Davis

Harold "Fred" Fredericks Jr.

Irwin Hasen

Comics artist; creator of "Dondi"-- via the New York Daily News.



Carlo Ubaldo Rossi

Composer -- via La Stampa.

Kenneth Riddington

Deathcetera: The week in death, mourning, and more

DEATH


Video: how to you talk to your parents about death? – from Caitlin Doughty at the Order of the Good Death

Are you lonely? That means you’re going to die sooner – via the National Health Service


Pat Johnson’s ‘Dead of Winter’ series in the Vancouver Courier, on death, mourning, and ritual:

How the White House decides which deaths to acknowledge – via Juliet Ailperin at the Washington Post

New opera: ‘Death with Interruptions’ – via Carol Ness at UC Berkeley News Center


Firing squad v. lethal injection: which one’s the best? – by John Sanburn at TIME magazine


25 significant books on death, dying, and mourning – via Elizabeth Donnelly at Flavorwire


MOURNING

Cabinet commemorates Civil War dead – from Allison Meier at Hyperallgeric

Recovered WWII dog tags help bring closure – from Kim Reishling at KATC


FUNERALS

Facebook sends funeral director ads to cancer patient’s feed – via Victoria Woolaston at the Daily Mail



OBITS