The Celebrity Obituary Thread

[KC]

Julie Harris has died at age 87.

Her excellent New York Times obit is here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/arts/julie-harris-celebrated-actress-of-range-and-intensity-dies-at-87.html?pagewanted=all

Julie Harris, the unprepossessing anti-diva who, in the guises of Joan of Arc, Mary Todd Lincoln, Emily Dickinson and many other characters both fictional and real, became the most decorated performer in the history of Broadway, died on Saturday at her home in Chatham, Mass. She was 87.

There is a tenuous Eastwood connection: She appeared in one episode of Rawhide.

R.I.P.

[Lin Sunderland]

RIP Ms Harris.

[KC]

Elmore Leonard, the great crime novelist, died on Tuesday at the age of 87.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/21/books/elmore-leonard-master-of-crime-fiction-dies-at-87.html?pagewanted=all

At the beginning of his writing career, Leonard's specialty was Westerns. His best-known Western short story, 3:10 to Yuma, was twice adapted as a film, but Clint Eastwood fans will also recall him as the author of the screenplay of Joe Kidd.

Here's an appreciation by New York Times book reviewer (and former film critic) Janet Maslin:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/books/elmore-leonard-a-man-of-few-yet-perfect-words.html



R.I.P.

Up in the "Eastwood in the press: Minor mentions" thread, Antonis posted an excerpt from an interview with Elmore Leonard, in which he talked about working with Eastwood and John Sturges on Joe Kidd:

http://www.clinteastwood.org/forums/index.php?topic=7063.msg213344#msg213344

Here's a direct link to the interview, for anyone who wants to read more:

http://www.filmcomment.com/article/elmore-leonard-interview-patrick-mcgilligan

[LCat]

RIP, Julie Harris, and Elmore Leonard!

LCat

[Jed Cooper]

I thought somebody else would've posted about this now, so here it goes.  Actor Michael Ansara passed away July 31.

Michael Ansara, "Star Trek"'s Kang, dies at 91      Michael Ansara, actor behind Klingon leader Kang, dies at 91

I first became aware of Mr. Ansara in the classic Star Trek episode, Day Of The Dove.  I always enjoyed his portrayal of Kang and read more about him in a Trek novel entitled Pawns And Symbols.  Ansara was married to Barbara Eden, who played in one of Elvis' better movies, Flaming Star (1960).

Ansara with Fran Jeffries and Presley in one of The King's worst films, Harum Scarum (1965)



A better image of Ansara from the same movie, with foreign subtitles.



Kang vs. Kirk in Day Of The Dove (1967)



Pawns And Symbols (1985)

[LCat]

Wow, I had no idea Michael Ansara was anywhere near 91!

RIP.

LCat

[higashimori]

 R.I.P. Julie Harris. 

[The Schofield Kid]

Ken Norton, who fought three memorable fights with Muhammad Ali, breaking his jaw in winning their first bout, then losing twice, and who went on to become the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion, died Wednesday in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, Nev. He was 70.

nytimes

[higashimori]

" Hiroshi Yamauchi, Who Steered Nintendo to Dominance, Dies at 85 "

 

TOKYO — Hiroshi Yamauchi, who transformed his great-grandfather’s playing-card company, Nintendo, into a global video game powerhouse, died on Thursday in Kyoto, Japan. He was 85.

 

In the early 1990s, Mr. Yamauchi found himself in the middle of an international dispute when he offered to buy a majority stake in the Seattle Mariners. The team, established in 1977, had been threatening to leave Seattle if it could not find a new owner willing to keep it there. Nintendo had its United States headquarters in Seattle.

The team’s owners approved the deal but the commissioner of Major League Baseball, Fay Vincent, and a four-man M.L.B. owners’ committee initially opposed it. They relented and approved the sale in 1992 after Mariners fans and the Seattle news media rallied in favor of it. In 2001, the Mariners signed the star Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, now with the Yankees, helping to open the door for many more Japanese players to join major league teams in the United States.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/business/global/hiroshi-yamauchi-who-helped-drive-nintendo-into-dominance-dies-at-85.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=obituaries&adxnnlx=1379773517-s5ctNj/+lRYH0GRrutDObg

 http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/hiroshi-yamauchi-death-seattle-mariners-owner-nintendo-president-signficant-legacy-091913



 R.I.P. Mr. Yamauchi.

[antonis]

really sad news......

Spaghetti Western Legend Giuliano Gemma dies in car crash age 75 / Breaking News

Italian spaghetti western film star Giuliano Gemma was killed in a car crash on Tuesday.

The 75 year old was involved in a collision near Rome, Italy. He was taken to hospital but died shortly after his arrival.

After working as a stuntman, he began acting in 1962. He became famous for his roles in spaghetti westerns, appearing in films such as A Pistol for Ringo, Blood for a Silver Dollar and Day of Anger.

He went on to win the David di Donatello, Italy’s equivalent of the Oscar, for his performance in Desert of Tartars in 1976.

[higashimori]

 R.I.P. Giuliano.


 " Tom Clancy, Best-Selling Master of Military Thrillers, Dies at 66 "

 By JULIE BOSMAN

 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/books/tom-clancy-best-selling-novelist-of-military-thrillers-dies-at-66.html?hp&_r=2&

 

Tom Clancy, whose complex, adrenaline-fueled military novels spawned a new genre of thrillers and made him one of the world’s best-known and best-selling authors, died on Tuesday in Baltimore. He was 66.

 http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/10/02/books/10-27-Tom-Clancy-7.html

 

 

 

 R.I.P. Mr. Tom Clancy.

 

[Tang Lung]

Curse of 3 : Victor "Octopus" Lundin , Mike "Mr Freeze" Ansara & Henry "Scarecrow" Polic II , all bat stars & all within short period.

Also Ken Wallis , 98 (Little Nellie pilot in YOLT)

Hitlers bodyguard Rochus Misch (he was born 1917 I believe)......he was last remaining in the bunker , quite a life he had : pre-WW2/Hitler elected , WW2 , Hitler bombed , Hitlers death/end of war , Cold War , Berlin Wall torn , fall of Saddam , 9/11.....all these things he lived to see.

He must've thought of Hitler when he saw dictators like Saddam and Gadaffi & just like Hitler it all came back to them.

[Lin Sunderland]

I was sorry to learn of the death of Tom Clancy. He was too young.

I loved his novels especially "Hunt for Red October".

RIP Mr. Clancy.

[KC]

Hitlers bodyguard Rochus Misch (he was born 1917 I believe)......he was last remaining in the bunker , quite a life he had : pre-WW2/Hitler elected , WW2 , Hitler bombed , Hitlers death/end of war , Cold War , Berlin Wall torn , fall of Saddam , 9/11.....all these things he lived to see.He must've thought of Hitler when he saw dictators like Saddam and Gadaffi & just like Hitler it all came back to them.

Thanks for pointing me to this obituary of Misch, which I'd missed when it was published:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/07/world/europe/rochus-misch-bodyguard-of-hitler-dies-at-96.html

[LCat]

" Hiroshi Yamauchi, Who Steered Nintendo to Dominance, Dies at 85 "

 
  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/business/global/hiroshi-yamauchi-who-helped-drive-nintendo-into-dominance-dies-at-85.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=obituaries&adxnnlx=1379773517-s5ctNj/+lRYH0GRrutDObg

 http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/hiroshi-yamauchi-death-seattle-mariners-owner-nintendo-president-signficant-legacy-091913



 R.I.P. Mr. Yamauchi.

What a creative and resourceful person! RIP!

LCat

[LCat]

really sad news......

Spaghetti Western Legend Giuliano Gemma dies in car crash age 75 / Breaking News




It seems bizarre that a stuntman would die in an accident; it's also bizarre that he would die in an accident at such an age! RIP

LCat

[LCat]

" Hiroshi Yamauchi, Who Steered Nintendo to Dominance, Dies at 85 "

 
  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/business/global/hiroshi-yamauchi-who-helped-drive-nintendo-into-dominance-dies-at-85.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=obituaries&adxnnlx=1379773517-s5ctNj/+lRYH0GRrutDObg

 http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/hiroshi-yamauchi-death-seattle-mariners-owner-nintendo-president-signficant-legacy-091913



 R.I.P. Mr. Yamauchi.

Thanks for the interesting history, Higashimori...

LCat

[higashimori]

 " Veteran character actor Ed Lauter dies at age 74 "

 http://news.yahoo.com/veteran-character-actor-ed-lauter-dies-age-74-004940530.html

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Veteran character actor Ed Lauter, whose long, angular face and stern bearing made him an instantly recognizable figure in scores of movies and TV shows during a career that stretched across five decades, died Wednesday. He was 74.

 

He was in "Trouble With the Curve" in 2011 with Clint Eastwood and in "Born on the Fourth of July" with Tom Cruise. He was also in "The New Centurions" with George C. Scott and in "My Blue Heaven," ''Revenge of the Nerds 2" and "Not Another Teenage Movie," among many other films.

 

 R.I.P.

[Jed Cooper]

Mr. Ed Lauter passed away yesterday.  I remember him from Death Wish 3 and more recently, Trouble With The Curve.  I've seen him in other films as well but can't recall the titles.

Entertainment Weekly

Wikipedia

Lauter with Charles Bronson in Death Wish 3 (1985)



Lauter, at far left, in Trouble With The Curve (2012)



Lauter in the same movie, at far right, with Eastwood



R.I.P. Ed Lauter

[antonis]

Mr. Ed Lauter passed away yesterday.  I remember him from Death Wish 3 and more recently, Trouble With The Curve.  I've seen him in other films as well but can't recall the titles.

Death hunt ?
Always loved that film.