The Odeon Online Obituary : The screen celebrities who passed away in September 2020

In September, the world bid a fond farewell to a number of stars of the silver screen and the small screen. In brief, shown below, is my passing tribute to those stars who leave an indelible mark on the entertainment industry, and in particular the world of film and television. May you all Rest In Peace, and thanks for the memories . . . . Sue C. Nichols, Rodney Litchfield, Kevin Dobson, Ronald Harwood, Diana Rigg, Barbara Jefford, Michael Chapman, Michael Lonsdale, Ron Cobb, Alan Tomkins, Juliette Greco, Kevin Burns and Helen Reddy.

* Sue C. Nichols - born 10th June 1965, died 1st September 2020, aged 55. Nichols was an American Artist best known for her work with the Walt Disney Animation Studios having worked as a storyboard artist, a visual development artist, a production stylist, a character designer and a model designer on twenty-four film and television series that began with a designer credit on the 1986 TV series 'My Little Pony'. From here, her following animated feature film credits include 'Beauty and the Beast' in 1991, 'The Lion King' in 1994, 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' in 1996, 'Mulan' in 1998, 'Fantasia 2000' in 1999, 'The Emperor's New Groove' in 2000, 'Lilo & Stitch' in 2002, 'Enchanted' in 2007, 'The Princess and the Frog' in 2009, 'Moana' in 2016, and 'UglyDolls' in 2019.  From 1986 until 1989 she also worked on fifty-eight episodes of 'Muppet Babies' and received Co-Writing credits on 'Aladdin' and 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'. 

* Rodney Litchfield - born sometime in 1939, died 5th September 2020, aged 81. Litchfield was an English Actor of film and television who notched up forty screen acting credits throughout his career which began on a single episode of 'Brookside' in 1984. Whilst the majority of his work was on the small screen, he did have a number of roles in feature films including 'Knights & Emeralds' in 1986, 'Testimony' in 1987, 'Pierrepoint : The Last Hangman' in 2005, 'Grow Your Own' in 2007 and 'The Last British Execution' in 2013 being his final screen appearance. In the meantime there were roles on numerous TV series taking in  'Juliet Bravo', 'All Creatures Great and Small', 'Last of the Summer Wine', 'A Touch of Frost', 'Heartbeat', 'Emerdale Farm', 'Casualty', 'The Bill', on twelve episodes of 'Early Doors' on twenty-three episodes of 'Coronation Street', 'Shameless' and 'My Family'. 

* Kevin Dobson - born 18th March 1943, died 6th September 2020, aged 77. Dobson was an American Actor of film, television and theatre who amassed sixty-seven screen acting credits during a career spanning six decades. His first screen appearance came with a single episode on 'One Life to Live' in 1968, followed by eight uncredited appearances on 'The Doctors' between 1969 and 1971. His first big screen role came with an uncredited bit part in 1971's 'Klute'. Other feature film roles followed including 'Midway' in 1976 with an all star cast, then 'All Night Long' in 1981, 'Restraining Order' in 1999, 'She's No Angel' in 2002, 'Crash Landing' in 2005, '1408' in 2007 and 'Dark Power' in 2013. In the intervening years there were numerous TV series on single and multiple episodes of 'The Mod Squad', 'Ironside', 'Cannon', 'Captain Kangaroo' then perhaps his break out role on 117 episodes of 'Kojak' between 1973 and 1978, followed by nine episodes in the title role of 'Shannon', and then across 291 episodes of 'Knot's Landing' between 1982 and 1993. These were followed up by twenty-two episodes on 'F/X : The Series', thirteen episodes on 'The Bold and the Beautiful', fifteen episodes on 'Days of Our Lives', then 'Hawaii Five-0', 'House of Lies', 'Anger Management' and the new series due to air in 2021 '12 to Midnight' which was being filmed at the time of his death. Dobson was the recipient of six award wins, all for his role on 'Knot's Landing' and three other nominations.

* Ronald Harwood - born Ronald Horwitz on 9th November 1934, died 8th September 2020, aged 85. Harwood was a South African-born British Author, Playwright, and Screenwriter, best known for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for 'The Dresser' in 1983 for which he was nominated for an Oscar, and 'The Pianist' in 2002, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He was nominated also for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for 2007's 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'. All up he won eight awards and was nominated a further thirty-two times for his works on movie Screenplays. Harwood accumulated forty-three screen writing credits throughout his career which took in a number of television movies, TV series, mini-series and feature films including 'A High Wind in Jamaica' with Anthony Quinn and James Coburn, 'Drop Dead Darling' with Tony Curtis, 'Eyewitness' with Mark Lester and Susan George, 'The Doctor and the Devils' with Jonathan Pryce and Timothy Dalton, 'A Fine Romance' with Julie Andrews, 'The Browning Version' with Albert Finney and Greta Scacchi, 'The Statement' with Michael Caine and Tilda Swinton, 'Being Julia' with Annette Bening and Michael Gambon, 'Love in the Time of Cholera' with Benjamin Bratt and Javier Bardem, 'Australia' with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman and 'Quartet' with Maggie Smith, Tom Courtney and Billy Connelly in 2012 being his final feature film scripting credit. Amongst his numerous recognitions for his achievements as a published author and a writer of theatre plays, films and television he was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire by HRH the Queen in 1999.

* Diana Rigg - born Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg on 20th July 1938, and died 10th September 2020, aged 82. Rigg was an English Actress of stage, film and television who amassed seventy screen acting credits to her name during a career spanning six decades right up until the time of her death. Her debut role came in a bit part in the made for TV movie of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in 1959, but it was in her breakout role in fifty-one episodes of 'The Avengers' between 1965 and 1968 as Emma Peel opposite Patrick McNee that really propelled Rigg into the limelight. From here she appeared in the feature film adaptation of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in 1968, then 'The Assassination Bureau' opposite Oliver Reed in 1969 and that same year as the Bond girl and wife of James Bond in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' opposite George Lazenby taking over the reins as 007 from Sean Connery for the first and final time. 'Julius Caesar' followed in 1970 with an all star cast, 'Theatre of Blood' with Vincent Price, 'A Little Night Music' with Elizabeth Taylor, 'The Great Muppet Caper', 'Evil Under the Sun' with Peter Ustinov playing Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, 'A Good Man in Africa' with Sean Connery, 'Parting Shots' with an ensemble cast of fine British acting talent, 'The Painted Veil' with Edward Norton and Naomi Watts, 'Breathe' with Claire Foy and Andrew Garfield and 'Last Night in Soho' with Anya Taylor-Joy and Matt Smith in post production at the time of her death and due for release in 2021. In the intervening years there were many single and multiple episodes of TV series taking in the likes of fifteen episodes on 'Diana' in 1973/74, seven episodes of 'Bleak House' in 1985, on all five episodes in the title role of 'The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries' in 1998, on five episodes of 'You, Me and the Apocalypse' in 2015, on eighteen episodes of 'Game of Thrones' as Olenna Tyrell, on six episodes of 'Detectorists', on nine episodes of 'Victoria' and on the mini-series 'Black Narcissus' in post-production and due for release in due course. All up Rigg collected fifteen award wins and another sixteen nominations from around the awards circuit with many of those being for her role on 'Game of Thrones' and 'The Avengers'. She was made a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1988 and a DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1994 for services to drama by HRH the Queen. 

* Barbara Jefford - born Mary Barbara Jefford on 26th July 1930, and died 12th September 2020, aged 90. Jefford was a British Actress of radio, television, cinema and theatre - being perhaps best known for her stage work spanning six decades with The Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic Theatre in Waterloo, London and London's National Theatre especially working alongside numerous world renowned actors and thespians including John Gielgud, Anthony Quayle, Richard Burton, Michael Redgrave, Derek Jacobi, Ralph Fiennes, Charles Dance, Albert Finney and Kenneth Branagh. She accumulated sixty screen acting credits throughout her career which launched in 1952 with the title role in the made for TV film 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles'. After a number of TV series appearances and uncredited voice dubbing work on 'From Russia with Love', 'Thunderball' and 'The Liquidator' she next appeared in 1967's 'Ulysses' for which she was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best British Actress. Other feature films that followed included 'The Bofors Gun' with Ian Holm, 'The Shoes of the Fisherman' with Laurence Olivier, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' with Diana Rigg, 'Hitler : The Last Ten Days' with Alex Guinness, 'Reunion' with Jason Robards, 'When the Whales Came' with Helen Mirren, 'Where Angels Fear to Tread' with Helena Bonham Carter, 'The Saint' with Val Kilmer, 'The Ninth Gate' with Johnny Depp, 'The Deep Blue Sea' with Rachel Weisz and 'Philomena' with Judi Dench and Steve Coogan being her final screen role in 2013. In the meantime, she also appeared in number of mini-series and single and multiple episodes of TV series taking in the likes of six episodes on 'The Canterbury Tales' in 1969, the mini-series across five episodes of 'The Visitors' in 1972, on all four episodes of the mini-series 'Porterhouse Blue' in 1987 and on twelve episodes of 'The House of Eliott' in 1991 amongst others. In 1965 she was awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) and in 1977 the Jubilee Festival Medal by HRH the Queen. 

* Michael Chapman - born 21st November 1935, died 20th September 2020, aged 84. Chapman was an American Cinematographer, Director and Actor who amassed forty-five cinematography credits, fifteen camera operator credits, eighteen as an Actor and seven as a Director throughout his career spanning five decades. His first gig as an Assistant Camera Operator came in 1965 on the feature film 'Who Killed Teddy Bear'. His first Director of Photography credit came in 1973 on 'The Last Detail' for Director Hal Ashby and starring Jack Nicholson. He followed this up over the years with numerous credits for Philip Kaufman, Martin Scorsese and Ivan Reitman in particular. For Kaufman he worked on 'The White Dawn', 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers', 'The Wanderers' and 'Rising Sun'. For Scorsese there was 'Taxi Driver', 'The Last Waltz', 'Raging Bull', 'Michael Jackson : Bad', and for Reitman there was 'Ghostbusters II', 'Kindergarten Cop', 'Six Days, Seven Nights' and 'Evolution'. In the meantime, other notable films included 'Klute', 'The Godfather', 'Jaws', 'Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid', 'The Man with Two Brains', 'The Lost Boys', 'Scrooged', 'Doc Hollywood', 'The Fugitive', 'Primal Fear', 'The Watcher', 'House of D', 'Eulogy' and 'Bridge to Terabithia' being his last work as a Cinematographer in 2007. As Director his credits took in 'All the Right Moves', 'The Clan of the Cave Bear', 'Annihilator', 'The Viking Sagas' and two concert films both from Peter Gabriel - 'PoV' in 1990 and 'Peter Gabriel : Live in Athens 1987' in 2013. Chapman was the recipient of five award wins and seven other nominations including two Academy Award nods for Best Cinematography on 'Raging Bull' and 'The Fugitive' and a Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed by the American Society of Cinematographers. 

* Alan Tomkins - born sometime in 1939, died 20th September 2020, aged 81. Tomkins was an English film Art Director who amassed thirty-six credits as an Art Director and twenty other credits for his Art Department work as draughtsman or Assistant Art Director. His first credited role as Assistant Art Director came with the English comedy 'Mister Ten Per Cent' which he followed up with 'The Ballad of Tam Lin' in 1970 and 'The Devils' in 1971. His Art Director stints came with 'A Touch of Class' in 1973 and then 'The MacKintosh Man' that same year for John Huston, 'Juggernaut' in 1974 for Richard Lester, 'A Bridge Too Far' for Richard Attenborough in 1977, 'Star Wars : Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back' in 1980 for Irvin Kershner, 'The Keep' in 1983 for Michael Mann, 'Lifeforce' in 1985 for Tobe Hooper, 'Memphis Belle' in 1990 for Michael Caton-Jones, 'Hamlet' in 1990 for Franco Zeffirelli, 'Natural Born Killers' for Oliver Stone in 1994, 'Kundun' for Martin Scorsese in 1997, 'Saving Private Ryan' in 1998 for Steven Spielberg, 'Die Another Day' for Lee Tamahori in 2002 and 'Batman Begins' in 2005 for Christopher Nolan being his final screen outing. He received an Oscar nomination for his work on 'The Empire Strikes Back' as well as another win and four further nods. 

* Michael Lonsdale - born Michael Edward Lonsdale-Crouch on 24th May 1931, died 21st September 2020, aged 89. Lonsdale was a British French Actor who amassed 241 screen acting credits to his name throughout a career which launched in 1956 in the French comedy feature film 'It Happened in Aden'. Over the years that followed his other numerous credits included 'The Trial' in 1962 for Orson Welles, 'Behold a Pale Horse' in 1964 for Fred Zinnemann, 'The Bride Wore Black' and 'Stolen Kisses' both for Francois Truffaut in 1968, 'The Day of the Jackal' for Fred Zinnemann again in 1973, 'The Romantic Englishwoman' in 1975, 'The Passage' in 1979, as the arch villain Hugo Drax in 1979's 007 outing 'Moonraker' for Lewis Gilbert, 'Chariots of Fire' in 1981, 'Enigma' in 1982, 'The Holcroft Covenant' for John Frankenheimer in 1985, 'The Name of the Rose' in 1986, 'The Remains of the Day' in 1993 and 'Jefferson in Paris' in 1995 both for James Ivory, 'Ronin' in 1998 for John Frankenheimer again, 'Munich' in 2005 for Steven Spielberg, 'Goya's Ghosts' in 2006 for Milos Forman, 'Of Gods and Men' in 2010 with 'Sculpt' in 2016 being his final screen acting role. Lonsdale won four awards and was nominated four times including a Caesar Award win for Best Supporting Actor on 'Of Gods and Men'. 

* Ron Cobb - born 21st September 1937, died 21st September 2020, aged 83. Cobb was an American born yet resided for the most part in Sydney, Australia, film Production Designer, Conceptual Designer, Conceptual Artist and one time Director. He worked on numerous major movies including John Carpenter's 'Dark Star' in 1974, 'Star Wars : Episode IV - A New Hope' in 1977 for George Lucas, Ridley Scott's 'Alien' in 1979, 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' for Steven Spielberg in 1981, 'Conan the Barbarian' for John Milius in 1982, 'Aliens' for James Cameron in 1986, 'The Abyss' for James Cameron again in 1989, 'Leviathan' also in 1989 for George P. Cosmatos, 'Total Recall' in 1990 for Paul Verhoeven, 'The 6th Day' for Roger Spottiswoode in 2000 and 'Southland Tales' in 2006 for Richard Kelly being his final film as Conceptual Artist. His one and only Directorial outing came with the Australian comedy 'Garbo' in 1992. In 1985 Cobb received credit as DeLorean Time Travel Consultant on 'Back to the Future', and during the early '90's, Cobb worked with Rocket Science Games, of which his designs can be seen most notably in 1994's 'Loadstar: The Legend of Tully Bodine' and 1997's 'The Space Bar', for which he designed all the characters.

* Juliette Greco - born 7th February 1927, died 23rd September 2020, aged 93. Greco was a French Actress and singer. Her acting and singing career spanned seevn decades, with thirty-one screen acting credits to her name and thirty soundtrack credits beginning in 1947 with the French drama film 'Les freres Bouquinquant'. Over the years that followed she appeared in a mix of French and American films mostly active throughout the '50's and '60's with only five film roles from the '70's onward. In 1957 she appeared in 'The Sun Also Rises' with Tyrone Power, Errol Flynn and Ava Gardner, in 1958 in John Huston's 'The Roots of Heaven' with Errol Flynn again and Trevor Howard and Orson Welles, then 'Crack in the Mirror' in 1960 with Orson Welles again, 'The Big Gamble' in 1961 with Stephen Boyd, and 'The Night of the Generals' in 1967 with Peter O'Toole, Christopher Plummer, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay and Donald Pleasence. In 2001 she had a small role in 'Belphegor - Le fantom du Louvre' with Sophie Marceau and in 2002 her final screen role came opposite Klaus Maria Brandauer in 'Jedermanns Fest'. Greco was married three times and linked romantically to Sacha Distel, Darryl F. Zanuck, Miles Davis and Quincy Jones. She also inspired works by Jean-Paul Sartre, Ray Davis, Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

* Kevin Burns - born 18th June 1955, died 27th September 2020, aged 65. Burns was an American Executive Producer, Director and Writer mostly of documentary style films and TV series who amassed 111 Producer credits, forty Writer credits and thirty-six as Director throughout his career which began with the documentary short 'I Remember Barbra' in 1981. His next Director's gig came with 'The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen' in 1995 then the likes of 'A Hollywood Christmas', 'Hollywood Aliens & Monsters', 'Behind the Planet of the Apes', 'Lost in Space Forever', 'Cleopatra : The Film That Changed Hollywood', 'Playboy : Inside the Playboy Mansion', 'Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures', 'Star Wars : The Legacy Revealed', 'Star Wars : Star Warriors', 'Indiana Jones and the Ultimate Quest', 'The Godfather Legacy', 'How Playboy Changed The World', four episodes of 'The Curse of Oak Island', two episodes of 'Ancient Aliens' and 'Lost in Space : The Epilogue' being his final Directing role in 2015. Beyond this and more recently he also Executive Produced eighty-four episodes of 'The Curse of Oak Island', nine episodes of 'In Search of Monsters', sixteen episodes on 'The Curse of Civil War Gold', twenty episodes of 'Lost in Space', eleven episodes of 'The UnXplained with William Shatner', and 142 episodes of 'Ancient Aliens' right up until the time of his passing. Burns won six awards and was nominated another nine times. His work can be seen on A&E, National Geographic Channel, E!, Animal Planet, AMC, Bravo, WE tv, Travel Channel, Lifetime, and The History Channel. Burns created and Executive Produced in excess of eight hundred hours of television programming.

* Helen Reddy - born 25th October 1941, died 29th September 2020, aged 78. Reddy was an Australian singer, Actress and activist who started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on radio and television and won a talent contest on the Australian variety television program, 'Bandstand' in 1966. During the 1970's, Reddy enjoyed international success, especially in the United States where she placed fifteen singles on the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Six made the Top 10 and three reached No. 1, including her signature hit 'I Am Woman'. She placed 25 songs on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart; fifteen made the Top 10 and eight reached No. 1, six consecutively. Of her acting credits she notched up just thirteen film and television appearances spanning through the early '70's right up until the present day. Of her feature film credits there was 'Airport 1975' with Charlton Heston, George Kennedy and Karen Black, Disney's 'Pete's Dragon' in 1977 with Jim Dale, Mickey Rooney and Shelley Winters; 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' in 1978 with Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, Donald Pleasence and Peter Frampton; 'Disorderlies' in 1987; 'The Perfect Host' in 2010 and 'Senior Entourage' that has recently completed filming and also starring Edward Asner. In the meantime there were singular appearances on TV shows including 'The Love Boat', 'Fantasy Island', 'The Jeffersons', 'BeastMaster', 'Diagnosis Murder' and 'Family Guy'. She also picked up forty-four soundtrack acknowledgements. In the mid '80's, Reddy embarked on a new career on the stage. She mostly worked in musicals, including 'Anything Goes', 'Call Me Madam', 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood', and – both on Broadway and the West End in 'Blood Brothers'. She also appeared in four productions of the one-woman show 'Shirley Valentine'. Her song 'I Am Woman' played a significant role in popular culture, becoming an anthem for second-wave feminism. She came to be known as a 'feminist poster girl' and a 'feminist icon'. She won the Grammy Award in 1973 for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Female for 'I Am Woman' - the first Australian performer to win a Grammy. 

Thirteen deaths reported this month from the film and television community at large, and that community is just a little bit poorer as a result. As some governments the world over are easing up on their COVID-19 restrictions, others are enforcing further stages of lockdowns because of a second wave in cases, remember the basic principles still being advocated - maintain a safe distance, hand hygiene and wear a mask if you are unable to maintain a safe distance especially - together we can all beat this thing. Stay safe and remain healthy.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-