The Celebrity Obituary Thread

[Brendan]

Former child star and Lost Boys actor, Corey Haim, died today.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/10/corey.haim.obit/index.html?hpt=T2

'Lost Boys' star Corey Haim dies at 38
From Alan Duke, CNN
March 10, 2010 2:31 p.m. EST

Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Former 1980s teen movie actor and heartthrob Corey Haim died early Wednesday, authorities said.

Haim, 38, was taken to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California, where he was pronounced dead at 2:15 a.m. PT (5:15 a.m. ET), said Lt. Cheryl MacWillie, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County coroner's office. The hospital is a mile from Haim's apartment.

A 911 call came in just before 1 a.m. PT (4 a.m. ET), said police Sgt. William Mann.

Los Angeles police Sgt. Frank Albarran said earlier that Haim's death appeared to be accidental and may have been due to an overdose.

But "the cause of death at this time is unknown," Mann said. "He had flulike symptoms before the incident. His mother was giving him various over-the-counter medications."

Haim's agent, Mark Heaslip, also told CNN's sister network HLN, "We do not think this is a drug overdose. Corey was actually going very clean in his life."

Haim had struggled with drug abuse in recent years, but Heaslip said he was attempting to wage a comeback and had signed several contracts, including one for a reality show.

Haim was not feeling well Tuesday night and was running a low-grade fever, he said. The actor went into his mother's bedroom and asked her to lie down by him, Heaslip said. He told his mother he was having trouble breathing, and his mother told him to roll on his side, he said. He began to feel better, but at midnight he woke his mother by walking around the bedroom and then collapsed.

Asked if news of Haim's death comes as a surprise, Heaslip said, "100 percent." He said the death could have come as a reaction to medication Haim was taking as part of his sobriety program.

The actor was under the care of his doctor, who visited him Tuesday night, as well as an addictionologist, Heaslip said. An addictionologist is a doctor who specializes in treating addictions.

Haim's mother's condition was "horrible," he told HLN. "She's a wreck."

The coroner's office has taken possession of Haim's body, MacWillie said.

The actor's most famous role was in the 1987 movie "The Lost Boys" in which he appeared with his frequent co-star, Corey Feldman.

In later years, the two friends -- who appeared in eight movies together -- both struggled with drug abuse and went their separate ways. They reunited for a reality show, "The Two Coreys," in 2007, but A&E Network canceled the program after slightly more than a year.

Did you ever meet Corey Haim? Share your photos, story

In a 2007 interview on CNN's "Larry King Live," Haim and Feldman both discussed their battle with drugs. Feldman told King that he had gotten clean, but it took Haim a while longer.

Haim called himself "a chronic relapser for the rest of my life."

"I think I have an addiction to pretty much everything," he said. "I mean, I have to be very careful with myself as far as that goes, which is why I have a support group around me consistently."

He told King that he also had lost more than 150 pounds while getting sober.

"I didn't like looking in the mirror anymore," Haim said. "I couldn't do it ... See, I hit about, my peak, about 302 [pounds]. ... And now I'm back to 150."

In 2008, Feldman told People magazine that he would no longer speak to Haim until his former co-star got sober. In a clip from "The Two Coreys," Feldman and his wife, along with two other former teen stars, called on Haim in an effort to get him to admit he needed help, the magazine said.

The meeting followed an incident in which Haim -- scheduled to film a cameo appearance in a direct-to-DVD sequel to "The Lost Boys" -- appeared on the set "clearly under the influence," People reported.

"I don't feel that he's a safe person to have around my wife and child at the moment, for a multitude of reasons," Feldman told People. Haim told the magazine in the August 2008 story that he was currently sober and said, "I will always love Corey Feldman, but I lost 105 percent respect for him and his wife."

Christopher Ameruoso, a photographer who lives in the Oakwood Apartments complex, said Wednesday that Haim had been his neighbor for at least a year. He said he last saw Haim two days ago getting into a taxi.

"He looked good," he said. "He's putting on a lot of weight."

He said Haim sometimes could be seen wandering around the complex, "looking for companionship, looking for friends."

Haim was born December 23, 1971 in Toronto, Ontario, according to a biography on his Web site. He made his first television appearance in 1982 on the Canadian series "The Edison Twins." His first film role was in 1984, when he appeared in the American movie "First Born."

Haim also won rave reviews for his title role in the 1986 film "Lucas." Film critic Roger Ebert said of him at the time, "If he continues to act this well, he will never become a half-forgotten child star, but will continue to grow into an important actor."

Following "The Lost Boys," both Haim and Feldman appeared in "License to Drive" and "Dream a Little Dream."

[Brendan]

Actor Peter Graves was found dead in his home today:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/03/actor-peter-graves-found-dead-at-his-home-in-pacific-palisades.html

Actor Peter Graves found dead at his home in Pacific Palisades
March 14, 2010 |  5:08 pm

Lanow.graves Actor Peter Graves was found dead Sunday at his home in Pacific Palisades, according to law enforcement sources. Graves, who stared in "Mission: Impossible," "Airplane!" and Billy Wilder's "Stalag 17"--apparently died of natural causes, the sources said.

Graves was 83, according to a biography on the website IMDB.com.

In a Times story late last year, Graves said he initially turned down the role for "Airplane!" because he thought it was in poor taste--until actors Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges and Leslie Nielsen signed on to the cast. "They say you are supposed to stretch as an actor, so let's go stretch it," he told The Times' Susan King.

--Andrew Blankstein and Cara Mia DiMassa

[Lin Sunderland]

RIP Peter Graves. 



I liked him in Mission Impossible.

[higashimori]

I liked him in Mission Impossible.

 Me, too.... sad news again.  R.I.P

[Jed Cooper]

Wow, Andrew Koenig, Corey Haim & Peter Graves, God Bless & RIP.

I didn't even make the connection between Star Trek alumni Walter Koenig and his son Andrew.  I watched The Two Corey's (guilty pleasure) and was sad at how Haim just didn't seem like he was going to get better.  Peter Graves was a class act.  Aside from Mission: Impossible and Airplane! I enjoyed his hosting A&E's Biography.

So sad.  Not long after Andrew Koenig's suicide, Marie Osmond's son Michael also suffered the same tragedy.

[Sylvie]

Fess Parker, the unforgettable Davy Crockett, died yesterday, he was 85.

I remember how happy I was, waiting for his adventures, in front of my black and white tv when I was young ! And the song that I can still sing ...(in French of course !)

RIP Mr Parker ...

[KC]

So Sylvie, how do you say "Killed him a b'ar when he was only three" in French?

R.I.P., Fess Parker. Here's a link to the New York Times obituary:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/arts/television/19parker.html

After reading this paragraph ...

Disney had been searching for a quintessential American type to play the rough-hewn hero of the Alamo and had considered established stars like Glenn Ford, Sterling Hayden and Ronald Reagan before deciding against them. When someone suggested James Arness, Disney went to see “Them!,” a well-regarded 1954 science-fiction movie in which Mr. Arness — who later went on to TV stardom on “Gunsmoke” — had a major role. Mr. Parker had a small but visible part in the film, and when Disney saw him — rugged-looking and well over 6 feet tall — he was said to have exclaimed, “There’s our Davy Crockett!”

... I was reminded of Leone's search for someone to play the rough-hewn anti-hero of the Mexican border town, and found myself thinking it's a good thing Disney didn't go to see Revenge of the Creature instead of Them! ... Clint might have sold coonskin caps to America's youth for a few years and then gone on to become a real estate developer instead of a movie star.

[D'Ambrosia]

This guy was huge, Huge, in the fifties.  What Jack Lord and Tom Selleck was to Hawaii and Don Johnson was to Miami this guy was to the Smoky Mountains.  I have my mom’s old piano sheet music to Davy Crockett.  

Doesn’t ole Fess have a Horny Toad reference in Old Yeller reminiscent to Josey Wales?

RIP…  

[Sylvie]

So Sylvie, how do you say "Killed him a b'ar when he was only three" in French?

  Here is a link with the translation, lyrics ! http://www.generiques-tv.com/davy-crockett.html but it's not the original version we could listen to on tv at that time ...

[KC]

Hmm ...

Y'avait un homme qui s'appelait Davy
Il était né dans le Tennessee
Si courageux que quand il était p'tit
Il tua un ours du premier coup d'fusil

Davy, Davy Crockett, l'homme qui n'a jamais peur

Catchy! 

[Lin Sunderland]

Sad news.   I too loved Davy Crockett.  I was a little in love with Fess Parker when I was a teenager.

R.I.P.

[higashimori]

 Another sad news....., I loved this song..." Davy, Davy Crockett, l'homme qui n'a jamais peur " ....  R.I.P

[Brendan]

Actor Robert Culp passed away today. He was in the "Rawhide" episode Incident at the Top of the World.

Also for those that don't know Dennis Hopper has been battling prostate cancer for quite awhile now. Well it seems that he's taken a huge turn for the worse. He weighs almost 100 pounds now and is close to passing.

[Richard Earl]

Actor Robert Culp passed away today. He was in the "Rawhide" episode Incident at the Top of the World.

Also for those that don't know Dennis Hopper has been battling prostate cancer for quite awhile now. Well it seems that he's taken a huge turn for the worse. He weighs almost 100 pounds now and is close to passing.

I had not heard that about Dennis. His role in Easy Rider was greatness!

[Gant]

Sad news about Robert Culp.. I thought   I Spy was a great show... Culp was always the best dressed man on tv.

I also remember enjoying him in the tv movie Outrage 1973

[higashimori]

 

Actor Robert Culp passed away today. He was in the "Rawhide" episode Incident at the Top of the World.

 R.I.P  Robert Culp.

Also for those that don't know Dennis Hopper has been battling prostate cancer for quite awhile now. Well it seems that he's taken a huge turn for the worse. He weighs almost 100 pounds now and is close to passing.

 Terrible sad news, though I knew it since a while.  He is a painter, also.   Courage, Dennis ! 

[The Schofield Kid]

Charlie's an Angel Now: John Forsythe Dies at 92

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1977623,00.html

[KC]

R.I.P., John Forsythe. From the above Time obit:

Something in Forsythe's uncomplicated manliness appealed to Alfred Hitchcock; maybe Hitch saw him as a domesticated Cary Grant, or Jimmy Stewart with better posture.

[KC]

Here's the New York Times obituary for Forsythe:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/03/arts/television/03forsythe.html

While looking that one up, I spotted another interesting one: H. Edward Roberts, whom some consider the father of the PC, has died at the relatively young age of 68. Imagine if there had been a World Wide Web back when his Altair 8800 microcomputer was released in 1975 (and we were all around then) ... we might have been posting on the Clint Eastwood Web Board about brand-new films like The Eiger Sanction and The Outlaw Josey Wales on something that looked like this:



Of course ... we probably wouldn't have been posting much ... 

Programming the Altair was an extremely tedious process. The user toggled the switches to positions corresponding to an 8080 microprocessor instruction or opcode in binary, then used an 'enter' switch to load the code into the machine's memory, and then repeated this step until all the opcodes of a presumably complete and correct program were in place. When the machine first shipped the switches and lights were the only interface, and all one could do with the machine was make programs to make the lights blink.

(from Wikipedia)

R.I.P., Ed Roberts.

[higashimori]

 

  R.I.P