In February, 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 . . . . . Ezio Frigerio, Dieter Mann, Douglas Trumbull, Margarita Lozano, George Spiro Dibie, Andre Wilms, Beryl Vertue, Ivan Reitman, Alfred Sole, Jack Smethurst, David Brenner, Lindsey Pearlman, Leo Fong, Xavier Marc, Chor Yuen, Stewart Bevan, Anna Karen, Henry Lincoln, Sally Kellerman, Michel Le Royer, Ralph Ahn, Nick Zedd, Veronica Carlson and Ned Eisenberg.
* Ezio Frigerio - born 16th July 1930 and died 2nd February 2022, aged 91. Frigerio was an Italian Production Designer, Costume Designer and Art Director of film, television and theatre who accumulated forty production design credits, eleven as costume designer and six as Art Director throughout his career which spanned seven decades. His career began in 1961 on the feature film
'The Best of Enemies' as costume designer, with David Niven for Director Guy Hamilton which he would follow up with the likes of
'The Condemned of Altona' in 1962 with Sophia Loren,
'Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow' in 1963 with Sophia Loren again,
'The Year of the Cannibals' in 1970 with Britt Ekland,
'Cyrano de Bergerac' in 1990 with Gerard Depardieu,
'The Horseman on the Roof' in 1995 with Olivier Martinez,
'The Ogre' in 1996 with John Malkovich and in the years in between and since he would work in production design on TV specials and made for TV movies including
'Carmen', 'Don Giovanni', 'Cosi fan tutti', 'Romeo e Giulietta', 'Hamlet', 'Otello', 'Tosca' and
'Aida'. His Art Director credits included 1968's
'Galileo', '1900' in 1976 with Robert De Niro, and
'Madama Butterfly' in 2018 being his final screen duty. All up Frigerio won three awards and a further six nominations including an Oscar and a BAFTA nod for Best Art Direction for 1990's
'Cyrano de Bergerac'.
* Dieter Mann - born 20th June 1941 and died 3rd February 2022, aged 80. Mann was a German Actor, Director, University Professor, and radio personality. In his career he acted in several stage productions and in over 140 film and television roles. Between 1984 and 1991 he was Director of the Deutsches Theater. In 1986, he became a member of the Berlin Academy of Arts. Internationally, he is best known for having portrayed Wilhelm Keitel the German Field Marshall and WWII criminal in the highly acclaimed 2004 German feature film '
Downfall'. His career began in the 1965 feature film
'Berlin um die Ecke' and concluded seven decades later with the made for TV movie
'Die Letzten Millionen' in 2014. In 2020 Mann was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the German Screen Actors Awards.
* Douglas Trumbull - born 8th April 1942 and died 7th February 2022, aged 79. Trumbull was an American film Director, Producer, Special Effects Supervisor and inventor. He contributed to, or was responsible for, the special photographic effects of Stanley Kubrick's
'2001: A Space Odyssey', Steven Spielberg's
'Close Encounters of the Third Kind', 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' for Director Robert Wise, Ridley Scott's
'Blade Runner' and
'The Tree of Life' by Terrence Malick, and Directed the feature films
'Silent Running' with Bruce Dern and
'Brainstorm' with Christopher Walken. His other Directorial outings, of which there were eleven more, were all short films culminating with
'Golden Eyes' in 2011. His final film production and special effects credit was for 2018's
'The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot' with Sam Elliott. The same year, he participated in the documentary
'Trumbull Land' devoted to him and his universe. All up Trumbull won sixteen awards and another twelve nominations including two Oscar wins and three nods plus a BAFTA nomination. Trumbull was inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010, citing first his stature as 'innovative master of special effects'. He also received the American Society of Cinematographer's Lifetime Achievement Award.
* Margarita Lozano - born
Margarita de las Flores Lozano Jimenez on 14th February 1931 and died 7th February 2022, one week before her 91st birthday. Lozano was a Spanish Actress of theatre, cinema and television whose career began in the 1953 Spanish feature film
'Hermano menor', and following on from this she generated sixty screen acting roles in total, with the majority of these coming after 1963 when she reduced her activity in Spanish cinema and moved forward into Italian cinema. In 1964 she would play a part in Clint Eastwood's first leading role in Sergio Leone's classic spaghetti Western '
A Fistful of Dollars', and followed this up over the ensuing years with the likes of
'Sardinia Kidnapped' with Franco Nero and Charlotte Rampling,
'That Splendid November' with Gina Lollobrigida, '
The Vacation' with Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero,
'Jean de Florette' with Yves Montand and Gerard Depardieu,
'Manon des Sources' with Yves Montand and Emmanuelle Beart,
'Good Morning Babylon' with Greta Scacchi and Charles Dance,
'Night Sun' with Julian Sands and Charlotte Gainsbourg with
'Napoleon and Me' in 2006 with Daniel Auteuil and Monica Bellucci being her final screen outing.
* George Spiro Dibie - born sometime in 1932 and died 8th February 2022, aged 90. Dibie was an Israeli born American Cinematographer who amassed sixty-five Director of Photography credits to his name across TV series and made for TV movies, which began with the TV movie
'Willy' in 1962. He would follow this up over the following five decades with the likes of forty-seven episodes of
'The Pat Boone Show', fifteen on
'The Ghost Busters', thirty-five on
'Fish', twenty on
'The Two of Us', seventy-two on
'Barney Miller', twenty-six on
'Buffalo Bill', sixty-four on '
Night Court', forty-two on
'My Sister Sam', forty-seven on
'Just the Ten of Us', 167 on
'Growing Pains', and 119 on '
Sister, Sister'. His made for TV movies included
'Scalpels' in 1980 with Rene Auberjonois,
'Harry's Battles' in 1981 with Dick van Dyke with
'In Security' in 2010 with Brandon Routh being his final cinematographer work. All up Dibie won seven awards with a further seven nominations, of those five were Primetime Emmy wins with another seven nominations. He won an Emmy in 1985 for
'Mr. Belvedere', in 1987 and 1991 for
'Growing Pains', in 1990 for
'Just the Ten of Us', and in 1995 for
'Sister, Sister'.
* Andre Wilms - born 29th April 1947 and died 9th February 2022, aged 74. Wilms was a French Actor of film and TV who amassed ninety-six screen acting credits throughout his career which launched in the 1970 TV movie
'The Ebro Crossing'. With only three other screen appearances during the 1970's, his career really gained traction from 1980 onwards with the likes of
'Brigit Haas Must Be Killed' with Philippe Noiret, then
'Le tartuffe' in 1984 Directed and starring Gerard Depardieu,
'Strange Place for an Encounter' with Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu,
'Torment' in 1994 with Emmanuelle Beart and Francois Cluzet,
'Roses on Credit' in 2010 with Lea Seydoux,
'Americano' in 2011 with Geraldine Chaplin and Salma Hayek,
'The Forbidden Room' in 2015 with Geraldine Chaplin and Charlotte Rampling,
'A Jew Must Die' in 2016 with Bruno Ganz,
'Hannah' in 2017 with Charlotte Rampling with
'The Salt of Tears' in 2020 being his final big screen outing, before his final screen offering with the made for TV movie
'La bonne conduite' in 2021. Wilms was the winner of the Best Supporting European Actor award at the 1992 European Film Awards for his work on
'La Vie de boheme', and he also collected four other award nominations.
* Beryl Vertue - born 8th April 1931, died 12th February 2022, aged 90. Vertue was an English television Producer, media executive, and agent. She was founder and chairman of the independent television production company Hartswood Films. Vertue garnered fifty-three Producer credits on TV series, films and made for television movies throughout her career which kicked off with Eric Sykes Directed and starring in
'The Plank' in 1967. She followed this up over the next five decades or so with
'Till Death Us Do Part' in 1968 with Warren Mitchell,
'Up Pompeii' in 1971 with Frankie Howerd,
'Up the Chastity Belt' in 1972 with Frankie Howerd again,
'Steptoe & Son' with Wilfred Brambell and Harry H. Corbett also in 1972,
'The House in Nightmare Park' in 1973 with Frankie Howerd once more,
'Tommy' in 1975 with Roger Daltrey and Oliver Reed with her last feature film coming in 1976 with
'Sparkle' with Irene Cara and Philip Michael Thomas. From here she concentrated more on TV movies and TV series including
'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie', 'My Good Friend', 'Is It Legal?', 'Men Behaving Badly', 'The Savages', 'Coupling', 'Carrie & Barry', 'Supernova', 'Jekyll', 'The Cup', 'Me and Mrs. Jones', and on all fifteen episodes of the award winning
'Sherlock' with Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman and Una Stubbs between 2010 and 2017. Vertue was the recipient of five award wins and a further ten nominations including a Primetime Emmy and BAFTA win for
'Sherlock'. She received the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2000 New Year's Honours List for her Services to Independent Television Production, and in 2016 she was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's New Years Honours List for her services to television drama. In 2004, she received the BAFTA Alan Clarke Award for Outstanding Creative Contribution to Television, and in 2012 Vertue was conferred a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards.
* Ivan Reitman - born 27th October 1946 and died 12th February 2022, aged 75. Reitman was a Czechoslovak-born Canadian film and television Director, Producer and Screenwriter and the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, which he founded in 1998. Throughout his career he accumulated twenty-five Director credits, seventy-four as Producer, seven as Writer, and three as Actor. His film making offerings included his debut on the 23 minute short film
'Orientation' in 1968, and from here he would go on to helm his 1971 feature film debut with
'Foxy Lady' and then
'Cannibal Girls' in 1973,
'Meatballs' in 1979 with Bill Murray,
'Stripes' in 1981 with Bill Murray again,
'Ghostbusters' in 1984 with Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd,
'Legal Eagles' with Robert Redford in 1986,
'Twins' in 1988 with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito,
'Ghostbusters II' in 1989 with Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd once more,
'Kindergarten Cop' in 1990 with Arnold Schwarzenegger again,
'Dave' in 1993 with Kevin Klein and Sigourney Weaver,
'Junior' in 1994 with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito once more,
'Six Days Seven Nights' with Harrison Ford and Anne Heche,
'Evolution' in 2001 with David Duchovny,
'My Super Ex-Girlfriend' in 2006 with Uma Thurman,
'Draft Day' in 2014 with Kevin Costner and Chadwick Boseman with
'Triplets' and
'Summer of Love' both in pre-production at the time of Reitman's passing. He also Produced the likes of
'Space Jam', 'Private Parts', 'Killing Me Softly', 'Old School', 'Disturbia', 'Up in the Air', 'Chloe', 'Hitchcock', 'Ghostbusters' (the reboot in 2016),
'Baywatch' and
'Ghostbusters : Afterlife' most recently in 2021, which was Directed by his son Jason Reitman. All up Reitman received seven award wins and another twelve nominations from around the awards and festival circuit including an Oscar and BAFTA nod for
'Up in the Air'. In 2009, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada 'for his contributions as a Director and Producer, and for his promotion of the Canadian film and television industries' and in 2011 he received the Mayor's Prize at his native city of Komarno, Slovakia.
* Alfred Sole - born 2nd July 1943 and died 14th February 2022, aged 78. Sole was an American Production Designer, Director, Producer and Writer who notched up forty Production Design credits throughout his career, eight as Writer, five as Director and one as Producer. His debut as Director came in his own penned story titled
'Deep Sleep' in 1972, which he followed up in 1976 with the horror offering
'Alice, Sweet Alice' which starred a young Brooke Shields in her feature film debut.
'Tanya's Island' came next in 1980, then
'Pandemonium' in 1982 with the TV movie
'Cheeseball Presents' in 1984 being his last foray into filmmaking. His first Production Design credit came in 1994 with the TV movie
'Natural Selection' with the bulk of his output coming in made for TV movies and latterly TV series over the next twenty-five years. His feature film credits took in the Mark Lester Directed
'Night of the Running Man' in 1995 with Andrew McCarthy and Scott Glenn,
'Bodily Harm' also in 1995 with Daniel Baldwin,
'Glory Daze' in 1995 with Ben Affleck and Sam Rockwell,
'Clubland' in 1999,
'Slammed' in 2004 with
'S. Darko' in 2009 being his final feature film credit. He was also Production Designer on sixty-four episodes of
'Veronica Mars', on fourteen of
'Moonlight', on 152 of
'Castle', and on forty-five of
'MacGyver' being his final screen credit between 2017 and 2019.
* Jack Smethurst - born 9th April 1932 and died 16th February 2022, aged 89. Smethurst was an English Actor of stage, film and TV who amassed ninety-nine screen acting credits throughout his six decade spanning career which began with his debut feature film in 1958's
'Carry On Sergeant', and then
'Watch Your Stern' in 1960,
'Operation Snafu' in 1961 with Sean Connery,
'A Kind of Loving' in 1962 with Alan Bates,
'Run with the Wind' in 1966 with Francesca Annis,
'Night After Night After Night' in 1969,
'Please Sir!' in 1971 with John Alderton, then spin-offs of popular TV series
'For the Love of Ada' in 1972,
'Love Thy Neighbour' in 1973 in which Smethurst plays perhaps his most well known character Eddie Booth and
'Man About the House' in 1974, followed by
'Chariots of Fire' in 1981,
'King Ralph' in 1991 with John Goodman and
'La passione' in 1996 being his final feature film credit. In the meantime there were many appearances on TV shows taking in the likes of
'The Rag Trade', 'Z Cars', 'Dixon of Dock Green', Father Dear Father', on twenty-seven episodes of
'For the Love of Ada', on fifty-four of
'Love Thy Neighbour', on seven of
'Love They Neighbour in Australia', on twelve of
'Hilary', 'The Bill', 'Last of the Summer Wine', on eight of
'Coronation Street', on six of
'Casualty' and on two of
'Doctors' being his final screen role in 2007.
* David Brenner - born sometime in 1962 and died 17th February 2022, aged 59. Brenner was an American film Editor who generated thirty-six editing credits during his career which kicked off in an apprentice Editor capacity in the 1985 feature film
'Radioactive Dreams'. He would follow this up with the first of many Oliver Stone Directed films taking in
'Salvador' in 1986, then
'Platoon' in 1986,
'Wall Street' in 1987, then his first Editor credit for Oliver Stone again on
'Talk Radio', then
'Born on the Fourth of July' in 1989,
'The Doors' in 1991 and
'Heaven & Earth' in 1993,
'World Trade Centre' in 2006,
'Wall Street : Money Never Sleeps' in 2010 being his last collaboration with Stone. In the meantime and in the years since, he has worked as Editor on other notable feature films including
'The River Wild' for Curtis Hanson,
'Independence Day', 'The Patriot', 'The Day After Tomorrow' and
'2012' all for Roland Emmerich,
'Kate & Leopold' and
'Identity' both for James Mangold,
'Man of Steel', 'Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice', 'Justice Laegue' and
'Zack Snyder's Justice League' all for Zack Snyder with
'Avatar 2 and 3' due for a future release and both Directed by James Cameron. Brenner was the recipient of two award wins and another five nominations including the Oscar win for Best Film Editing on
'Born on the Fourth of July' and the Golden Satellite Award for Best Film Editing for
'Independence Day'.
* Lindsey Pearlman - born 6th October 1978 and died sometime around the 18th February 2022, having been reported missing on 13th February, aged 43. Pearlman was an American Actress who accumulated just eleven screen acting roles during her short career which began with a single episode on the short TV series
'Kam Kardashian' in 2013. Next up she gained small roles in
'Empire', then five episodes on
'Chicago Justice', two on
'General Hospital', five on
'The Ms. Pat Show', and six on
'Vicious' as recently as 2021. In the meantime there were single turns on
'American Housewife', 'The Purge' and
'Selena : The Series'.
* Leo Fong - born 23rd November 1928 and died 18th February 2022, aged 93. Fong was a Chinese born American Actor, Producer, Screenwriter, Director, martial artist and boxer who amassed thirty-four screen acting credits to his name, eighteen as Producer, sixteen as Writer and thirteen as Director in a career which began with an acting credit on the feature film
'Murder in the Orient' in 1974. As an Actor he would go on to make a whole bunch of action, martial arts oriented B-movies including the likes of
'Killpoint' in 1984 with Richard Roundtree,
'Low Blow' in 1986 for which he would reprise his character in
'Blood Street' in 1988 and again in
'Hard Way Heroes' in 2010,
'Showdown' in 1993 which he also wrote and Directed, with
'Hidden Peaks' and
'Challenge of Five Gauntlets' both in 2018,
'Pact of Vengeance' in 2021 with
'Runaway Killer' which he Directed, Wrote, Produced and starred in and which is due for a future release and currently in post-production. Fong's entry into eastern martial arts began in the 1950's with judo and Jiu Jitsu, and over the years he studied and practiced various martial arts styles to the point where he developed his own style called Wei Kune Do. He was also a friend of famed martial artist Bruce Lee and managed to have a sparring session with him. Subsequently, Bruce Lee arranged for Fong to appear on the cover of the 10th anniversary edition of Black Belt magazine. In 2018 a biographical documentary film was released called
'Dragon to Dragon' in which the then ninety-year-old Fong tries to compare himself to Bruce Lee . . . . . you can be the judge of that one!
* Xavier Marc - born 16th January 1948 and died 19th February 2022, aged 74. Marc was a Mexican Actor, two time Director and one time Cinematographer who notched up forty-seven screen acting credits to his name throughout his career which launched in 1962 on the film
'The Time and the Touch'. He would follow this up over the years that followed with other feature films including
'Two Mules for Sister Sara' in 1970 with Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine,
'The Bridge in the Jungle' also in 1970 with John Huston,
'Once Upon a Scoundrel' in 1973 with Zero Mostel,
'The Bees' in 1978 with John Saxon,
'The Man in the Golden Mask' in 1991 with Jean Reno and Marlee Matlin, and
'The Legend of Zorro' in 2005 with Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones being his last feature film outing. There were also numerous local Mexican produced TV series in which Marc had either single or multiple episodes over the years, with his final appearances coming on forty-eight episodes of
'It had to be you' in 2018 and the short lived one season only
'The Mexican and the blond' in 2020.
* Chor Yuen - born
Cheung Po-kin on 8th October 1934 and died 21st February 2022, aged 87. Yuen was a prolific Hong Kong film Director who amassed 125 Directing credits, eighty-four as a Screenwriter and forty-six as an Actor throughout his career which launched with his first screen acting role in 1954 in
'Yun Niang'. His final acting role came in the 2002 TV series
'Fa wang yi ren'. His Screenwriting began in 1956 with
'Yi pian fei hua' and came to an end in 1987 with
'Liang xiao hua nong yue', with his first Collaborating Director credit coming with 1957's
'Xue ran xiang si gu'. His first directorial credit in his own right came in 1959 with
'Hu pan cao' and continued until his final feature film making credit in 1990 with
'Blood Stained Tradewind'. Hardly surprising is that Yuen was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to him at the 37th Hong Kong Film Awards in Hong Kong in April 2018.
* Stewart Bevan - born 10th March 1948 and died 21st February 2022, aged 73. Bevan was a British Actor of stage, film and TV who accumulated forty-eight screen acting roles throughout his career which began with a single episode on the TV series
'Mogul' in 1966, and which he would follow up the year after in 1967 with a small role in the feature film
'To Sir, with Love' with Sidney Poitier. He would follow this up with out feature films taking in the likes of
'Lock Up Your Daughters!' in 1969 with Christopher Plummer and Susannah York,
'Burke & Hare' in 1972,
'Steptoe and Son Ride Again' in 1973 with Wilfred Brambell and Harry H. Corbett,
'Brannigan' in 1975 with John Wayne and Richard Attenborough,
'The Ghoul' that same year with Peter Cushing and John Hurt,
'4D Special Agents' in 1981 with Dexter Fletcher,
'Chromophobia' in 2005 with Ben Chaplin, Penelope Cruz and Ralph Fiennes with
'The Scouting Book for Boys' in 2009 with Holliday Grainger and Rafe Spall being his final film credit. In the meantime there were appearances on TV shows taking in six episodes of the 1973 season of
'Doctor Who', eight episodes in 1977 on
'Emmerdale Farm', then
'Dick Turpin', 'Shoestring', 'Blake's 7', 'The Onedin Line', 'The Gentle Touch', 'Casualty', 'Grange Hill', 'The House of Eliott', 'The Bill', 'Silent Witness', 'Brookside' with the two Sci-Fi short video films
'Hello Boys' and
'Return of the Autons' in 2019 and 2020 being his final roles. Bevan has also made many appearances in theatre including in
'The Taming of the Shrew', 'Under Milk Wood', 'The Importance of Being Earnest' and
'Deathtrap'.
* Anna Karen - born
Ann McCall on 19th September 1936 and died 22nd February 2022, aged 85. Karen was a South African born British Actress of film and TV who amassed fifty-four screen acting credits to her name beginning in the twenty-seven minute short film
'Nudist Memories' in 1961. Following this she gained small parts in feature films beginning with her big screen debut in 1965's
'He Who Rides a Tiger' with Tom Bell and Judi Dench, and then Ken Loach's
'Poor Cow' in 1967.
'Lock Up Your Daughters' came next in 1969, then
'Carry on Camping' in 1969,
'Carry on Loving' in 1970,
'On the Busses' in 1971,
'Mutiny on the Busses' in 1972 and
'Holiday on the Busses' in 1973,
'What's Up Nurse!' in 1978,
'Cash in Hand' in 1998,
'Possessions' in 2001,
'Flick' in 2008 with
'No Reasons' in 2016 being her final feature film appearance. In the meantime there were roles on single and multiple episodes of TV series including on seventy-four episodes of
'On the Busses', on twenty-two of
'The Rag Trade', on twelve of
'Troubles and Strife', 'The Bill', 'Doctors' and on fifty-six episodes of
'EastEnders' as recently as 2017.
* Henry Lincoln - born
Henry Soskin on 12th February 1930, with his death announced on 24th February aged 92. Lincoln was a British author, TV presenter, Screenwriter and Actor who notched up fifty-eight screen acting credits and eighteen as Screenwriter during his career which began in 1956 with the made for TV movie
'A Man from the Sun'. He followed this up with three other made for TV movies in quick succession -
'The Condemned', 'The Runaway King' and
'The Bloodless Arena' before appearing in his first TV series
'Wideawake' in 1957. His other more notable TV outings included the likes of seven episodes of
'Spy-Catcher' between 1959 and 1960, on seven of
'Strange Concealments', on three of
'Sierra Nine', 'The Avengers', on seven of
'The Barnstormers', 'Z Cars', 'Coronation Street', 'The Saint', 'Man in a Suitcase', 'The Champions' with his last screen acting role coming in 1975's
'The Man Without a Face'. Lincoln only appeared in two feature films, those being
'Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River' in 1968 with Jerry Lee Lewis and
'Shadowman' in 1974 with Gayle Hunnicutt. His Screenwriting credits extended to seventeen episodes of
'Doctor Who' between 1967 and 1968,
'Softly, Softly', 'The Expert', 'Hadleigh', 'Warship' and the documentary series
'Chronicle', 'Discovery Showcase : The Secrets of the Templars', and
'Henry Lincoln's Guide to Rennes-le-Chateau'. In November 2003, he was given an Honorary Knighthood in the Militi Templi Scotia order - an honour given in recognition of his work in the fields of Sacred Geometry and Templar history.
* Sally Kellerman - born 2nd June 1937 and died 24th February 2022, aged 84. Kellerman was an American Actress, singer and author who garnered 158 screen acting roles throughout her seven decade spanning career, which launched in the 1957 feature film
'Reform School Girl'. She would follow this up over the ensuing years with other big screen outings including
'Hands of a Stranger' in 1962,
'The Third Day' in 1965 with George Peppard,
'The Boston Strangler' in 1968 with Tony Curtis and Henry Fonda,
'MASH' in 1970 for Director Robert Altman and with Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould,
'Brewster McCloud' in 1970 again and for Robert Altman again,
'Slither' in 1973 with James Caan,
'Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins' in 1975 with Alan Arkin,
'Foxes' in 1980 with Jodie Foster,
'That's Life!' in 1986 with Jack Lemmon and Julie Andrews,
'Three for the Road' in 1987 with Charlie Sheen,
'The Player' in 1992 for Robert Altman once more and with Tim Robbins,
'Pret-a-Porter' in 1994 for Robert Altman again with Sophia Loren and Julia Roberts,
'Night Club' in 2011 with Ernest Borgnine,
'A Place for Heroes' in 2014 with Paul Sorvino with
'Underwater Upside Down' currently in post-production for a future release. In the meantime, there were numerous single and multiple episodes on TV shows taking in the likes of
'The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis', 'The Outer Limits', 'Star Trek', 'Tarzan', 'The Invaders', 'Hawaii Five-O', 'Bonanza', on twelve episodes of
'Centennial', Hotel', 'Murder, She Wrote', 'Touched by an Angel', 'Diagnosis Murder', 'Columbo', '90210', on thirteen episodes of
'Chemistry', on ten of
'The Young and the Restless' and on seven of
'Decker'. Her other artistic output included two studio albums -
'Roll with the Feelin'' recorded in 1972 and
'Sally' in 2009. She also released her biography
'Read My Lips : Stories of a Hollywood Life' in 2013. Kellerman was the recipient of six award wins and another five nominations including an Oscar and a Golden Globe nod for
'MASH'.
* Michel Le Royer - born 31st August 1932 and died 25th February 2022, aged 89. Le Royer was a French Actor of stage, TV and cinema who generated forty-two screen acting roles throughout his career which launched with his first credited screen role in the 1955 feature film
'Magic Village'. His next role came in the 1960 TV movie
'Cyrano de Bergerac' playing Christian de Neuvillette, and then the likes of
'Lafayette' in 1962 with Jack Hawkins,
'Nutty, Naughty Chateau' in 1963 with Jean-Louis Trintignant with his final big screen outing coming in the 1973 feature film
'Les confidences érotiques d'un lit trop accueillant'. In the intervening years there were appearances in made for TV films and series including lending his voice talents to the animated series on
'Pole Position' in 1984,
'Marianne the First' in 1990,
'Heroes on Hot Wheels' also in 1990,
'Space Strikers' in 1995 and
'Skyland' in 2006. In 2011 and 2012 he would finish up his acting career by lending his voice to the French versions of the video games
'Star Wars : The Old Republic' and
'Dishonoured'. In 2011 Le Royer was named 'Knight of the Legion of Honour'.
* Ralph Ahn - born 28th September 1926, died 26th February 2022, aged 95. Ahn was an American Actor. He was the son of Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, one of Korea's most respected patriotic figures and also a historical figure in America. His father's contributions to the Korean independence movement influenced Ahn's involvement in politics, WWII, and support for the Korean community of Los Angeles. Ahn accumulated forty-two screen acting roles throughout his career which began with a single episode on the 1952 TV series
'China Smith', which he would follow up with two uncredited roles in 1953 in
'Battle Circus' with Humphrey Bogart and
'Mission Over Korea'. His first credited big screen role came with
'Prisoner of War' in 1954 with Ronald Reagan, then
'Confessions of an Opium Eater' with Vincent Price in 1962,
'The Hook' in 1963 with Kirk Douglas with his next feature film outing coming twenty-five years later in 1988 with
'It Takes Two', then
'Let It Ride' in 1989 with Richard Dreyfus, and then the likes of
'Life Stinks' for and with Mel Brooks in 1991,
'Eyes of an Angel' also in 1991 with John Travolta,
'Younger and Younger' in 1993 with Donald Sutherland,
'Panther' in 1995 for Mario Van Peebles,
'Lawnmower Man 2 : Beyond Cyberspace' in 1996 with Patrick Bergin with the French film
'Let There Be Light' in 1998 being his final feature film release. In the meantime, there were appearances on TV shows including
'The Golden Girls', 'Shannon's Deal', 'The Good Life', 'Bless This House', 'Walker, Texas Ranger', 'ER', 'The King of Queens', 'The Shield', 'Gilmore Girls' and seven episodes on
'New Girl' most recently between 2012 and 2018.
* Nick Zedd - born 8th May 1958 and died 27th February 2022, aged 63. Zedd was an American Director, Actor, Writer, Editor, Producer, Cinematographer, author, and painter based in Mexico City. He coined the term Cinema of Transgression in 1985 to describe a loose-knit group of like-minded filmmakers and artists using shock value and black humour in their work. During his career he amassed twenty-six Directing credits, thirty as Actor, fourteen as Writer, six as Editor, five as Producer and four as Cinematographer. Zedd Directed several super-low-budget feature-length movies, including
'They Eat Scum', 'Geek Maggot Bingo', 'School of Shame', 'War Is Menstrual Envy', 'Smiling Faces Tell Lies', numerous short films and twenty episodes of
'The Adventures of Electra Elf' between 2005 and 2008. Zedd also acted in such low-budget movies as
'The Manhattan Love Suicides', 'What About Me', 'Bubblegum', 'Jonas in the Desert', 'Terror Firmer', 'Thus Spake Zarathustra', 'Other People's Mirrors', 'The Killing Games', 'Scumbag' and
'Dark Forces' as recently as 2020. In addition he appeared in the documentaries
'Llik Your Idols' and
'Blank City'. In the 1980's Zedd published ten issues of the
'Underground Film Bulletin', a zine intended to promote the Cinema of Transgression.
Zedd was the author of two autobiographical books,
'Bleed' published in 1992 and
'Totem of the Depraved' in 1996 as well as the self-published 1996 novel
'From Entropy to Ecstasy'.
* Veronica Carlson - born
Veronica Mary Glazer on 18th September 1944 and died 27th February 2022, aged 77. Carlson was a British model and Actress of film and television who accumulated twenty-five screen acting roles that began with an uncredited role in
'Casino Royale' in the James Bond spy-spoof with David Niven playing 007. Her first credited role came with 1967's
'Smashing Time', then followed up with
'Hammerhead' in 1968 and then a series of horror films taking in
'Dracula Has Risen from the Grave' with Christopher Lee in 1968,
'Frankenstein Must be Destroyed' in 1969 with Peter Cushing,
'The Horror of Frankenstein' in 1970,
'Old Dracula' in 1974 with David Niven and
'The Ghoul' in 1975 with Peter Cushing again and John Hurt. In the meantime, there were also roles in
'Crossplot' with Roger Moore and
'Pussycat, Pussycat I Love You' with Ian McShane. After a hiatus of almost twenty years Carlson returned to the horror genre with
'Black Easter' in 1994, then
'Freakshow' in 1995 and
'House of the Gorgon' in 2019, with the short film in 2021
'Night of the Devil' being her last screen role. Over the years she also appeared in
'The Saint', 'Department S', in thirteen episodes of
'Spider's Web' and on
'Public Eye'.
* Ned Eisenberg - born 13th January 1937 and died 27th February 2022, aged 65. Eisenberg was an American Actor who garnered seventy-seven screen acting credits to his name in a career which launched in the 1980 feature film
'The Exterminator'. Over the following years he would have other big screen roles in the likes of
'The Burning' in 1981,
'Moving Violations' in 1985 with Sally Kellerman and Don Cheadle,
'Air America' in 1990 with Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jnr.,
'Last Man Standing' in 1996 with Bruce Willis,
'Primary Colours' in 1998 with John Travolta,
'A Civil Action' also in 1998 and also with John Travolta,
'Million Dollar Baby' in 2004 for an with Clint Eastwood and Hilary Swank,
'World Trade Centre' in 2006 with Nicolas Cage,
'Flags of Our Fathers' in 2006 too for Clint Eastwood,
'Limitless' in 2011 with Bradley Cooper,
'Won't Back Down' in 2012 with Maggie Gyllenhaal,
'Meadowland' in 2015 with Olivia Wilde and
'Asher' in 2018 with Ron Perlman being his last big screen offering. In the intervening years, there were also roles in TV series taking in
'The Equalizer', 'Miami Vice', 'L.A. Law', 'The Sopranos', 'NYPD Blue', 'Dragnet', 'Law & Order', 'Blue Bloods', '30 Rock', 'Madam Secretary', 'The Good Wife', 'Bull', 'Elementary', 'Law & Order : SVU', 'Mare of Easttown', 'The Blacklist' and
'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'. In 1987, he cofounded the Naked Angels Theatre Company with longtime friend Fisher Stevens with Rob Morrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Marisa Tomei, Lili Taylor and Matthew Broderick.
With twenty-four deaths reported this month from the film and television community at large, that community is just a little bit poorer as a result. As many governments the world over are easing up on their COVID-19 restrictions, others are seemingly enforcing further stages of lockdowns. However, we should all continue to be cautious by remembering the basic principles that continue to be advocated - maintain a safe distance, hand hygiene and wear a mask if you are unable to maintain a safe distance especially, and get vaccinated and then get a booster jab - together we can all beat this thing. Stay safe, remain healthy and wherever you are in the world, if you're in lock down, watch a movie on your favoured streaming service from the comfort of your own home. R.I.P. you screen legends.
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
