A MAN CALLED OTTO : Tuesday 3rd January 2023

I saw the M Rated 'A MAN CALLED OTTO' earlier this week, following its release here in Australia on New Years Day. This American comedy drama film is Directed by Marc Forster and is the second film adaptation of the 2012 novel 'A Man Called Ove' by Swedish author Fredrik Backman, following the 2015 Swedish film of the same name Written and Directed by Hannes Holm. Marc Forster's prior film making credits take in the likes of 'Monster's Ball' in 2001, 'Finding Neverland' in 2004, 'The Kite Runner' in 2007, 'Quantum of Solace' in 2008, 'World War Z' in 2013 and 'Christopher Robin' in 2018. The film saw a limited release in the US from 30th December before a much wider release from 13th January, has garnered mixed or average reviews and has so far grossed US$3M at the Box Office on a production budget of US$50M.

The film opens up with Otto Anderson (Tom Hanks) searching amongst the shelves of his local 'Big Beaver' hardware store. He buy a sturdy enough looking hook, and very specifically five feet of thick rope. When he goes to pay, the teller charges him for two yards of rope, which Otto very astutely says that he has been overcharged by one foot, and why is he being charged for six feet of rope when he only needs, and has cut the length of, five feet? The teller tells him that the computer only charges by the yard, so Otto asks to see the manager, who is at lunch, so he asks to see the assistant manager, who turns up to be a young girl old enough to be his grand daughter, whom he greets with 'shouldn't you be in gym class'? This sets the tone of this grumpy sixty year old man, who it seems behind closed doors and more often that not under his breath, calls just about everyone he comes into contact with an 'idiot'!

We subsequently learn that Otto's wife, and life long love, Sonya (Rachel Keller) has recently passed away, and he was forced into taking a severance package from his job at a steel plant firm that he held down for about forty years. Otto leads a simple life and by a staunch set of principles, strict routines and a relatively short fuse, giving just about everyone in his gated neighbourhood community a hard time as he watches over it, and them, like a man on a mission. However, for this creature of habit, his life now has no meaning since the passing of Sonya, and so using the hook and the five feet of rope he purchased recently he drills a hole in the ceiling into the joist, screws in the hook, and ties the rope into a noose with the intention of hanging himself. 

As he places the noose around his neck he spies through his lounge room window a car with U-Haul trailer attempting to back into the side of the road directly opposite from where he lives. Perplexed by this notion, he dashes out the front to be greeted by Marisol (Mariana Trevino), her husband Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and two young daughters who are renting the place, with Tommy unsuccessfully attempting to back up his trailer with Marisol supposedly guiding her husband. Otto ultimately jumps into the car and successful reverses the car and trailer in with ease. Job done. He goes back inside his house, and hangs himself. But his attempt at taking his own life is thwarted as the hook snaps and he crashes down to the floor. 

Marisol and Tommy come knocking on Otto's door sometime later with a serving of Pollo Con Mole which he reluctantly takes and eats with gusto when he is alone later, but he has to eat it cold because just before trying to hang himself he had the electricity cut off and the telephone line disconnected too. Later Tommy asks Otto if he can borrow a set of allen keys to build some flat pack furniture and on another occasion a ladder to fix a window from the outside that won't open. Otto is obliging. 

Through flashbacks we see when Otto was in his early twenties (played by Truman Hanks, Tom's son) when he first set eyes on Sonya, and how their love for each other blossomed. Otto wanted to join the army but was refused entry because of medical reasons - he suffers from idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, and so took up engineering instead. Upon successfully graduating from college, he asks Sonya to marry him, and she without hesitations says yes. In time, she becomes pregnant, and at the six month point they are both looking forward to the arrival of their first born. They decide to take a holiday to Niagara Falls before the birth of their child, and while travelling on a bus together to their destination, the bus careers of the road, rolls several times before coming to rest. Otto was in the toilet at the time and was saved from much of the impact, but Sonya was thrown out of the window, resulting in her becoming paralysed from the waist down and losing their baby. 

Otto regularly visits Sonya's final resting place in the graveyard bringing her fresh flowers and a chair to sit in where he talks to her about his failed attempts to reunite with her, the state of America and what's being going on in his community. His suicide attempts are through gassing himself in his car in his garage with carbon monoxide fumes but this is thwarted when Marisol comes banging on the garage door begging him to drive her to the hospital because Tommy has injured his foot trying to repair the window while balancing on the ladder, and Marisol can't drive. On another occasion Otto drives to the local train station with the intention of throwing himself in front of an oncoming train, but his thwarted when a man collapses on to the tracks suffering a cardiac arrest and Otto jumps down to save him. Otto is hailed a hero and generates a million views on a social media platform. On the last occasion, Otto take his shotgun with the intention of blowing his brains out, but he has a vision of Sonya telling him that its time to live his life, and so he shoots a hole in the ceiling instead. 

Otto is brought further into the life of his neighbours Anita (Juanita Jennings), her disabled husband Rueben (Peter Lawson Jones) and their surrogate son Jimmy (Cameron Britton) when it is revealed that their estranged real son whom that haven't seen in years and who now resides in Japan has, through the power of attorney, put their house on the market with Real Estate Agency 'Dye & Merica' and forced his Mum and Dad into care homes. When the Real Estate Agent (Mike Birbiglia) turns up to take possession of the house, Otto had done his homework on their behalf and uncovered some nefarious goings on that results in the agent departing empty handed, and Anita and Rueben remaining secure in their family home. 

On another occasion, Otto gets talking to a newspaper delivery lad called Malcolm (Mack Bayda), who it turns out is transgender and was taught in school by Sonya. He tells Otto that it was Sonya who accepted him for what he was and that helped him through a very tough few years at school. One night Malcolm turns up on Otto's doorstep asking if he could crash their for the night because his own Dad kicked him out. Otto agrees. In time, Otto shows Malcolm and Jimmy his daily routines around the community, with the desire that they can assume his mantle when he is gone. And on a final occasion, Otto teaches Marisol to drive his manual car, because he thinks it's crazy for a woman of some thirty years of age not to be able to drive. Otto thereafter gives his car to Malcolm, who was saving up his money from working three jobs, to buy a second hand Volkswagen much to Otto's chagrin. Otto then goes out and buys a brand new Chevrolet truck. 

All of these kind and compassionate acts, largely thanks to Marisol's outgoing and tell it as she sees it personality, leads Otto to open up, embrace the joys of life, and accept people for what and who they are. As Otto's relationships with his neighbours strengthens, he finds himself becoming increasingly involved in their lives and helping them through their various challenges. One day Otto collapses in the road outside his house due to his heart condition. Marisol is on hand at the hospital when he comes round. A nurse enters his room and asks her is she is the next of kin, to which she says yes. The nurse reveals to Marisol, that Otto has a 'big heart' and that he needs to take care of himself, at which point Marisol starts giggling which quickly turns into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. 

We fast forward a couple of years and Otto has found solace and purpose in helping others and rediscovering his love of life. In the end, Otto learns to let go of his grief and embrace the joys of living in the present moment. One day however, Tommy notices that Otto had not swept away the snow from his front door and the pavement running alongside his house, which was a ritual he used to do every day during winter when it snowed. Marisol runs over to the house with Tommy following behind. She runs upstairs to find Otto collapsed on the bed, face down, dead. Marisol is distraught and Tommy picks up a note from the dresser addressed to her. In it, he has written out his wishes in the event of his death. It reads that he was never extravagant with his money and as such there is sufficient funds to put their children through a good education, and whatever monies are left over they can spend it as they so choose. He also leaves his home to them, his brand new Chevrolet truck, with the only condition that only Marisol can drive it and under no circumstances can Tommy be permitted to do so, because she is no 'idiot', and that his funeral service is to be low key affair. 

'America's Dad' has become 'America's Grumpy Old Granddaddy' in this Hollywood remake of a popular Swedish film from a only a few years ago, that once again showcases Tom Hanks enormous talent as a dramatic Actor to be able to portray a curmudgeonly cantankerous crowd pleasing character that ultimately turns Otto into a heartwarming sentimental one that is able to finally let go of his past and embrace what he has left of his future. Hanks and Trevino are well cast as the Yin and Yang neighbours, and Director Forster has here crafted a film that is both subtle and restrained while also offering up some laugh out loud moments, and an ending that is sure to pull at the heartstrings, albeit way too predictable almost from the outset.

'A Man Called Otto' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 5th January 2023.

The 34th Palm Springs International Film Festival kicks off on Thursday 5th January and runs through until Monday 16th January. The biggest driver of the Palm Springs International Film Festival's emergence was Sonny Bono, who, in the late 1980's felt that a film festival was exactly the kind of event that might extend the truncated tourist season in Palm Springs, and generate the kind of publicity that would help put Palm Springs, California on the map as a tourism destination all year-round. In 1989, he pulled a team together that could put into action the planning and logistical support that had been developed over the course of the previous year. Sonny then led the charge to bring sponsors on board, including major American corporations and a number of key members of the local community onto the Board in those early years for funding support and to help with the overall task. That first year's Festival, in January 1990, was an immediate success, drawing more than 17,000 filmgoers in the course of its five-day run, and generating positive press coverage from publications including the Los Angeles Times, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter. Now in its third decade, the Festival has come full circle, commanding huge media coverage annually, drawing major stars, attracting an attendance base that places it among the top three festivals in America, and boasting a film lineup widely respected for its breadth and scope. 

The 34th edition will screen 134 films from sixty-four countries including twenty-seven premier screenings. This years Opening Night feature film is the World Premier showcasing of '80 for Brady', Directed by Kyle Marvin and starring Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field and Tom Brady. The Closing Night film is the Stephen Frears Directed 'The Lost King' with Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan.

The 2023 Palm Springs International Film Awards will be presented on the evening of 5th January by Hosts, Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner from Entertainment Tonight. Those 2023 Honorees are as follows :-

* Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor, for the 'Banshees of Inisherin', presented to Colin Farrell.

* Director of the Year Award, presented to Sarah Polley for 'Women Talking'. 

* Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress, for 'Tar', presented to Cate Blanchett.

* International Star Award, Actress, presented to Michelle Yeoh for 'Everything, Everywhere All at Once'. 

* Vanguard Award, presented to Director, Steven Spielberg and cast members Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Gabriel LaBelle and Judd Hirsch for 'The Fabelmans'. 

* Breakthrough Performance Award, presented to Austin Butler for 'Elvis'.

* Chairman's Award presented to Viola Davis for 'The Woman King'.

* International Star Award, Actor, presented to Bill Nighy for 'Living'.

* Breakthrough Performance Award, Actress, presented to Danielle Deadwyler for 'Till'. 

* Spotlight Award, Actor, presented to Brendan Fraser for 'Whale'.

For the full schedule of films being showcased at this years Palm Springs International Film Festival, plus a whole lot more good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https//www.psfilmfest.org/film-festival-2023

This week there are four new release movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, kicking off with a semi-autobiographical film about a young boy growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, who aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth. Next up is an Aussie crime thriller about a former Special Forces operative, who is battling to cope with life after the loss of his wife and is thrust into the criminal underworld to keep his only son. Next up is a Spanish animated film about three mummies as they end up in present-day London and embark on a journey in search of an old ring belonging to the Royal Family; before closing out the week with an American live-action stop-motion animated mockumentary about an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colourful existence with his grandmother and their pet lint.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.

'THE FABELMANS' (Rated M) - is an American coming-of-age drama film Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Steven Spielberg, who needs no introduction. The film saw its World Premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in mid- September last year, where it won the People's Choice Award, and its wide US release in late November. The film received widespread critical acclaim for the performances of the cast, Spielberg's Direction, the screenplay, cinematography, and John Williams' musical score. It was named one of the top ten films of 2022 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. However, it has grossed just US$14M from a production budget of US$40M. It has so far collected fourteen award wins and another 126 nominations (many of which are still pending a decision) from around the awards and festivals circuit. 

This is a semi-autobiographical story loosely based on Steven Spielberg's adolescence and first years as as aspiring filmmaker, told through an original story of the fictional Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle), a young aspiring filmmaker who explores how the power of films can help him see the truth about his dysfunctional family and those around him. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Michelle Williams as Mitzi Schildkraut-Fabelman (based on Spielberg's mother Leah Adler), Paul Dano as Burt Fabelman (based on Spielberg's father Arnold Spielberg), Seth Rogen and Judd Hirsch as Boris Schildkraut, Sammy's granduncle, in supporting roles. The film is dedicated to the memories of Spielberg's real-life parents Leah Adler and Arnold Spielberg, who died in 2017 and 2020, respectively. 

'TRANSFUSION' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian crime thriller is Written, Directed and stars Matt Nable in his Directorial debut. The film tells the story of a father (Sam Worthington) and his young son (Edward Carmody) attempting to reconnect after a devastating loss. The son, mired in guilt for a choice he never made, and a father suffering from PTSD and without identity after retiring from the Special Air Service regiment (SAS) of the Australian Army. On his last chance with the law, the father is thrust into the criminal underworld by a former SAS brother (Matt Nable) to keep his only son from being taken from him. Also starring Phoebe Tonkin and Susie Porter, the film was originally made for Stan, and has not yet found a distributor outside of Australia, but hits our big screens this week.

'MUMMIES' (Rated PG) - is a Spanish animated family comedy film Directed by Juan Jesus Garcia Galocha in his third outing as an animated feature film Director after 'Tad : The Lost Explorer' in 2012 and 'Tad, the Lost Explorer, and the Secret of King Midas' in 2017. The film follows the fun filled adventures of three Egyptian mummies who live in an underground secret city, hidden in ancient Egypt. The trio includes a Princess, a former charioteer, and his younger brother along with their pet baby crocodile. Through a series of unfortunate events, the mummies end up in present-day London and embark on a wacky and hilarious journey in search of an old ring belonging to the Royal Family, that was stolen by the ambitious archaeologist Lord Carnaby (voiced by Hugh Bonneville). Also starring the English voice over work of Sean Bean, Eleanor Tomlinson and Celia Imrie. 

'MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON' (Rated PG) - this 2021 American live-action stop-motion animated mockumentary comedy-drama film is Co-Written for the screen, based on a story Co-Written by, Co-Produced, stars and is Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp in his feature film making debut. It is based on a 2010 trilogy of shorts of the same name, also Co-Written by Fleischer Camp. Here then Marcel (voiced by Jenny Slate, who also co-wrote the original story, this Screenplay and Co-Produces here), is a one-inch-tall shell, who lives with his grandmother, Connie (Isabella Rossellini), the only residents of their town after their neighbours' sudden, mysterious disappearance. When discovered by a guest amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, the short film he posts online brings Marcel millions of passionate fans and a new hope of reuniting with his long-lost family. Also starring Rosa Salazar and Thomas Mann. The film has so far picked up fifteen award wins and another thirty-five nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. It saw its World Premier at the Telluride Film Festival in early September 2021, and went on wide release Stateside from mid-July 2022, and only now does it get a showing in Australia having so far taken US$6.5M at the Box Office, and generating universal critical acclaim along the way. 

With four new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

The Odeon Online Obituary : Remembering the screen celebrities who passed away in December 2022.

In December, 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 . . . . . Julia Reichert, Al Strobel, Bob McGrath, June Blair, Terrence O'Hara, Kirstie Alley, Andree Damant, Helen Slayton-Hughes, Jacque Ciron, Richard Miller, Ruth Madoc, Georgia Holt, Angelo Badalamenti, Stuart Margolin, Stephen Boss, Michael Reed, James J. Murakami, Jane Sherwin, Doreen Brownstone, Maggie Thrett, Sonya Eddy, Diane McBain, Tony Barry, Ronan Vibert, Christopher Tucker, Stephen Greif, Edie Landau, John Bird, Rita Walter, Christian Roberts, Ruggero Deodato and Barbara Walters.

* Julia Reichert - born 16th June 1946 and died 1st December 2022, aged 76. Reichert was an American Producer and Director of documentary and the occasional narrative feature films. Her first Producer and Director credit came with the 1971 documentary film 'Growing Up Female', which she would follow up with 'Methadone : An American Way of Dealing' in 1974, 'Union Maids' in 1976 for which she garnered her first Academy Award nomination, 'Seeing Red' in 1983 for which she earned her second Oscar nomination, then 'A Lion in the House' which won her the Primetime Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking, then her third Oscar nod for 'The Last Truck : Closing of a GM Plant' in 2009, and then 'American Factory' in 2019 which gave Reichert her first Academy Award win for Best Documentary Feature, plus a further eighteen award wins and fifty nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit, '9to5 : The Story of a Movement' in 2020, and 'Untitled Dave Chappelle Documentary' being her final film making credit in 2021. Reichert wrote, Produced, and Directed the independent fiction feature 'Emma & Elvis' in 1992 and Produced the independent fiction feature 'The Dream Catcher' in 1999. In 1971, Reichert and her then husband Jim Klein, founded New Day Films as a filmmaker-owned democratically run film distribution cooperative. New Day Films recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, and now has over 140 filmmaker-owners, distributing over 300 films. She also taught film for 28 years in the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Motion Pictures at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Reichert has been honoured with lifetime achievement awards from the International Documentary Association, the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, and the Hot Docs Film Festival.

* Al Strobel - born Albert Michael Strobel on 28th January 1939 or 1940, and died 2nd December 2022, aged 82 or 83. Strobel was an American Actor who notched up just nine screen acting credits during his career which launched in 1986 with the feature film 'Shadow Play' with Cloris Leachman, then 'Megaville' in 1990 with Billy Zane, and then his most highly regarded role as Phillip Michael Gerard, the One-Armed Man, on ten episodes of 'Twin Peaks' between 1989 and 1990 - a role he would reprise in 'Twin Peaks : Fire Walk With Me' in 1992, then again in 2014 in 'Twin Peaks : The Missing Pieces' and finally in nine episodes of 'Twin Peaks' in 2017. In the meantime, there was also 'Child of Darkness, Child of Light' with Brad Davis in 1991 and 'Ricochet River' in 2001 with Kate Hudson. Strobel lost his left arm at the shoulder as a result of a car crash he sustained when he was 17 years old, and partly as a result he was cast as the One-Armed Man in 'Twin Peaks', the series which made him a star, without an audition or even meeting David Lynch.

* Bob McGrath - born Robert Emmett McGrath on 13th June 1932 and died 4th December 2022, aged 90. McGrath was an American Actor, musician, and children's author best known for playing original human character and music teacher Bob Johnson on the long-running educational television series 'Sesame Street' from 1969 to 2017 across 460 episodes, although he did return for the 2019 TV special 'Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration'. Along with series matriarch Susan Robinson, played by Loretta Long, McGrath was one of the two longest-lasting human characters on the series since the show's debut. 

* June Blair - born Margaret June Blair on 20th October 1932 and died 4th December 2022, aged 90. Blair was an American Actress and model whose most famous work in the latter category was that of being the Playboy magazine Playmate of the Month for its January 1957 issue. Her debut screen appearance (albeit uncredited) came in the 1956 feature film 'Our Miss Brooks' with Eve Arden, and she would follow this up with a string of other uncredited roles on the likes of 'The Girl He Left Behind' also in 1956 with Natalie Wood and Tab Hunter, 'Top Secret Affair' in 1957 with Susan Hayward and Kirk Douglas, 'This Could Be the Night' with Jean Simmons and Anthony Franciosa, 'Man of a Thousand Faces' also in 1957 with James Cagney, and 'My Man Godfrey' in 1957 too with David Niven. Her first credited big screen role came later that same year in 'Hell Bound', then 'Lone Texan', 'Island of Lost Women' and 'The Rabbit Trap' all in 1959, and 'A Fever in the Blood' in 1961 with Angie Dickinson and Efrem Zimbalist Jnr. being her final feature film role. In the meantime, and since she also appeared in sporadic episodes of 'Hawaiian Eye', 'The Texan', 'Tombstone Territory', 'Sea Hunt', 'M Squad', 'The Aquanauts', 'Lock Up' and then on six episodes of 'Two Faces West' and twenty-eight of 'The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet' between 1960 and 1966 being her final screen role, playing the wife of her real life husband at the time David Nelson, whom she divorced in 1975. Following her exit from show business in 1966, she devoted her time to family life and painting.

* Terrence O'Hara - born 25th December 1945 and died 5th December 2022, aged 76. O'Hara was an American film and television Director and Actor who notched up fifty-six Director credits and nine as an Actor in a career which began with acting roles on two episodes of 'Ryan's Hope' in 1978 and which took in over the following eight years 'Something Short of Paradise' in 1979 with Susan Sarandon, 'Voyager from the Unknown' in 1982, 'Naked Vengeance' in 1985 and 'The Devastator' in 1986 being his last acting gig. His Directing work began in 1989 on his debut feature film 'Darkroom', then 'Double Vision' in 1990 which would be his final feature film offering before turning his attention almost exclusively to TV series, taking in the likes of 'Pensacola : Wings of Gold', ten episodes of 'Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman', four of 'Touched by an Angel', 'Star Trek : Voyager', 'The X-Files', six of 'Angel', seventeen on 'JAG', twelve on 'Smallville', two on 'Shark', two of 'The Shield', four of 'The Unit', two on 'Sons of Anarchy', two on 'Lie to Me', thirteen on 'Grimm', six of 'The Blacklist', twenty-nine on 'NCIS : Los Angeles' between 2009 and 2022, and fifty-six on 'NCIS' between 2003 and 2022.

* Kirstie Alley - born 12th January 1951 and died 5th December 2022, aged 71. Alley was an American Actress of film and TV who accumulated seventy-six screen acting credits throughout her career which began on an uncredited episode of 'Quark' in 1978. Her big screen debut came in 1981 in 'One More Chance' which she would follow up over the ensuing years with 'Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan' with William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, 'Runaway' in 1984 with Tom Selleck, then perhaps her breakout big screen role in 'Look Who's Talking' in 1989 with John Travolta and a role she would reprise in 'Look Who's Talking Too' in 1990 and again in 'Look Who's Talking Now' in 1993. 'Sibling Rivalry' came in between in 1990 with Bill Pullman and Carrie Fisher, and then 'Village of the Damned' in 1995 with Christopher Reeve, 'It Takes Two' that same year with Steve Guttenberg, 'Deconstructing Harry' in 1997 for and with Woody Allen, 'For Richer or Poorer' in 1997 with Tim Allen, 'Drop Dead Gorgeous' in 1999 with Kirsten Dunst and 'Accidental Love' in 2015 with Jake Gyllenhaal and James Marsden being her final film role. In the intervening years and since there were many TV series including her best known as Rebecca Howe on 148 episodes of 'Cheers' between 1987 and 1993 and for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award and was nominated a further four times and three times respectively. There were also turns on sixty-seven episodes of 'Veronica's Closet', 'Without a Trace', on seven of 'Fat Actress', on twelve episodes of 'Kirstie', on ten of 'Scream Queens', 'The Goldbergs' and her final screen role came with 2020 TV movie 'You Can't Take My Daughter'. All up Alley won six awards and was nominated another thirty-six times. On 'The Dr. Oz Show' in September 2012, Alley said she started gaining weight in late 2003, and that she had been a compulsive eater all her life without gaining weight, with the change coming after she reached early menopause in 1992. While working as a Jenny Craig spokesperson from 2004 to 2007, Alley lost 34kgs, bringing her weight down to 66kgs. In May 2009, she reported that, after parting ways with Jenny Craig, she gained 38kgs and weighed as much as 103kgs. In April 2014, she returned as a spokesperson with Jenny Craig and in January 2015, Alley said that, since starting the Jenny Craig weight-loss programme again, she had lost 23kgs. In 2022, Alley competed in season seven of 'The Masked Singer' as 'Baby Mammoth' of Team Cuddly.

* Andree Damant - born 20th September 1929 and died 6th December 2022, aged 93. Damant was a French Actress of film and television who amassed 141 screen acting roles throughout her eight decade spanning career which launched with a bit part in the 1959 feature film 'Heures chaudes'. Her next big screen outing came in 1971 in 'It Only Happens to Others' with Catherine Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni, and then the likes of 'Dead Tired' in 1994 for and with Michel Blanc, Phillippe Noiret and Charlotte Gainsbourg, 'Hate' in 1995 with Vincent Cassel, 'Amelie' in 2001 with Audrey Tautou, 'Mon Idole' in 2002 for and with Guillaume Canet and Diane Kruger, 'House of D' in 2004 for and with David Duchovny and Robin Williams, 'Tell No One' in 2006 with Francois Cluzet, 'Belle & Sebastian' in 2013 with five episodes on the French comedy series 'Scenes de menages' between 2011 and 2022 being her final screen credit. 

* Helen Slayton-Hughes - born 30th October 1930 and died 7th December 2022, aged 92. Slayton-Hughes was an American Actress of theatre, film and television who notched up sixty-three screen acting roles during a career which kicked off with the feature film 'Mafia on the Bounty' in 1980. From here, her other big screen appearances included 'Shoot the Moon' in 1982 with Albert Finney and Diane Keaton, 'Good Night, and Good Luck' in 2005 for and with George Clooney and David Strathairn, 'Crazy on the Outside' in 2010 for and with Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Ray Liotta, 'Hesher' with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman, 'Veronica Mars' in 2014 with Kristen Bell, 'Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot' in 2018 with Joaquin Phoenix and Jonah Hill, 'Moxie' in 2021 for Amy Poehler and 'The Curse of Bridge Hollow' in 2022 with Marlon Wayans and Kelly Rowland. Aside from numerous TV series appearances, she also had recurring roles in eleven episodes of 'Parks and Recreation' and on twenty-one episodes of 'Burning Love'.

* Jacques Ciron - born 17th May 1928 and died 7th December 2022, aged 94. Ciron was a French Actor who after gaining recognition for his looks and his voice, he became very popular in cinema and boulevard theatre. He was also very active in dubbing, lending his voice to several animated Disney films, as well as to the character Alfred Pennyworth in several live-action 'Batman' films. He also lent his voice to the evil clown 'It' in the miniseries of the same name. Of his 120 screen acting roles, his feature film credits took in his debut with 'Le plus heureux des hommes' in 1952 and he would follow this up over the successive years with the likes of '. . . And God Created Woman' in 1956 with Brigitte Bardot, Curd Jurgens and Jean-Louis Trintignant, 'Lady L' in 1965 with Sophia Loren, Paul Newman and David Niven, 'Mayerling' in 1968 with Omar Sharif, Catherine Deneuve and James Mason, 'The Brain' in 1969 with Jean-Paul Belmondo, David Niven and Eli Wallach, 'The Black Windmill' in 1974 with Michael Caine and Donald Pleasence, 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' in 1988 with Daniel Day-Lewis and Juliette Binoche, 'Frantic' also in 1988 with Harrison Ford, 'Money' in 1991 with Eric Stoltz and Maryam d'Abo, 'The Ogre' in 1996 with John Malkovich and Armin Mueller-Stahl, 'Hunting and Gathering' in 2007 with Audrey Tautou and Guillaume Canet with 'Paris-Manhattan' in 2012 being his final feature film role. 

* Richard Miller - born 6th December 1942 and died 8th December 2022, aged 80. Miller was an American film visual effects sculptor and model maker who generated fifty-five screen credits that began with an uncredited visual effects model maker on 'Star Wars : Episode Six - The Return of the Jedi' in 1983. From there, his other notable movie credits included 'Innerspace' in 1987, 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' in 1988, 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' in 1989, 'Back to the Future, Parts II and III' in 1989 and 1990, 'Backdraft' in 1991, 'Star Trek VI : The Undiscovered Country' in 1991, 'The Mask' in 1994, 'Jumanji' in 1995, 'Mission : Impossible' in 1996, 'The Mummy' in 1999, 'Star Wars : Episode I - The Phantom Menace' in 1999, 'Planet of the Apes' in 2001, 'Star Wars : Episode II - Attack of the Clones' in 2002, 'Pirates of the Caribbean : The Curse of the Black Pearl' in 2003, 'Terminator 3 : Rise of the Machines' also in 2003, 'Star Wars : Episode III - Revenge of the Sith' in 2005, 'Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Man's Chest' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean : At World's End' in 2006 and 2007 respectively with 'Evan Almighty' in 2007 being his final movie credit. Miller was a key staffer in the Industrial Light & Magic Creature Shop and later the ILM Model Shop for almost thirty years. For the past two decades, Miller also taught at ILM, conducting enrichment classes in the art of sculpting.

* Ruth Madoc - born Margaret Ruth Llewellyn Baker on 16th April 1943 and died 9th December 2022, aged 79. Madoc was a British Actress of theatre, film and television who garnered thirty-five screen acting roles throughout her career which began with a role in the 1971 feature film 'Under Milk Wood' with Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Peter O'Toole, with 'Fiddler on the Roof' that same year with Topol. Her next big screen outing came in 1977 in 'Crossed Swords' with Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch and Mark Lester, with her final feature film coming in 2001 with 'Very Annie Mary' with Rachel Griffiths, Jonathan Pryce and Ioan Gruffudd. In the intervening years and since there were single and multiple episodes on TV series, with the most notable of these being as Gladys Pugh on fifty-eight episodes of 'Hi-de-Hi!' between 1980 and 1988, with thirty-six on 'Hunters Walk' between 1973 and 1976, eight of 'Animal Ark' , six of 'Jack of Hearts', six on 'Little Britain', six on 'Big Top' then 'Benidorm', Doctors', 'Casualty' and 'The Tuckers' as recently as 2022. Madoc also appeared in many theatre productions, including the stage version of 'Under Milk Wood', 'Steel Magnolias', the Agatha Christie thrillers 'And Then There Were None . . . ', the musical 'Annie' and numerous pantomime parts.

* Georgia Holt - born Jackie Jean Crouch on 9th June 1926 and died 10th December 2022, aged 96. Holt was an American singer, songwriter, Actress and model, and the mother of singer and Actress Cher. Holt had a number of uncredited minor film roles in the 1950's beginning with 'A Life of Her Own' in 1950 with Lana Turner and Ray Milland, 'Watch the Birdie' that same year with Red Skelton, 'Grounds for Marriage' and 'Father's Little Dividend' both in 1951 and the latter with Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor, 'Lovely to Look At' in 1952 with Red Skelton, Howard Keel, Ann Miller and Zsa Zsa Gabor with 'Artists and Models' in 1955 with Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and Shirley MacLaine being her final film role. She also appeared on 'I Love Lucy' and 'The Lucy Show' with the latter being her final screen credit in 1967. Holt was the subject of the 2013 Lifetime documentary 'Dear Mom, Love Cher', which was executive produced by her daughter, Cher. The same year, Holt also released her album 'Honky Tonk Woman', which was recorded in 1982 with Elvis Presley's band. It was Holt's discovery of the tapes which led to the documentary project.

* Angelo Badalamenti - born 22nd March 1937 and died 11th December 2022, aged 85. Badalamenti was an American composer and music arranger for films, TV series and video games who amassed ninety-seven composer credits throughout his career which began with the 1973 feature film 'Gordon's War'. From here, he would also compose the soundtracks for more notable big screen offerings taking in the likes of 'Blue Velvet' in 1986 for David Lynch, 'A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 : Dream Warriors' in 1987, 'Wild at Heart' in 1990 for David Lynch again, the 'Twin Peaks' TV series and the film 'Twin Peaks : Fire Walk With Me' in 1989 and 1992 respectively and both for David Lynch once again, 'The City of Lost Children' in 1995 for Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 'Lost Highway' in 1997 for David Lynch once more, 'Arlington Road' in 1999, 'The Straight Story' for David Lynch again, 'The Beach' in 2000 for Danny Boyle, 'Mullholland Drive' in 2001 for David Lynch, 'Cabin Fever' in 2002 for Eli Roth, 'A Very Long Engagement' in 2004 for Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 'The Wicker Man' in 2006, '44 Inch Chest' in 2009, 'Stalingrad' in 2013 and 'Here After' in 2020 being his final feature film composer credit. Badalamenti also collaborated with many famous singers across multiple genres, including Nina Simone, Nancy Wilson, Shirley Bassey, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Marianne Faithfull, Liza Minnelli and Roberta Flack. All up he was the recipient of thirteen award wins and a further thirty-one nominations from around the awards and festival circuit including the Henry Mancini Award in 2011 by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and a Grammy Award win for 'Twin Peaks'. He also composed the opening theme for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

* Stuart Margolin - born 31st January 1940 and died 12th December 2022, aged 82. Margolin was an American Actor of film, TV and theatre and Director who accumulated 123 screen acting credits, fifty-eight as Director, seven as Writer and three as Producer during a career spanning seven decades in front of the camera and four decades behind it. His first acting role came in three episodes of 'The Gertrude Berg Show' in 1961 and '62, with his first feature film role coming with 'Women of the Prehistoric Planet' in 1966, which he would follow up with the likes of 'Kelly's Heroes' in 1970 with Clint Eastwood, 'Death Wish' in 1974 with Charles Bronson, 'The Gambler' that same year with James Caan, 'Days of Heaven' in 1978 with Richard Gere, 'S.O.B.' in 1981 with Julie Andrews, 'Class' in 1983 with Rob Lowe, 'Iron Eagle II' in 1988 with Louis Gossett Jnr., 'The Hoax' in 2006 with Richard Gere, 'Arbitrage' in 2012 with Richard Gere again with 'What the Night Can Do' in 2020 being his final feature film appearance. In the years in between there were also numerous roles on TV shows including 'The Fugitive', 'Ironside', 'The Virginian', 'The Monkees', 'Bewitched', 'Land of the Giants', on twenty-nine episodes of 'Love : American Style', 'Gunsmoke', 'M*A*S*H', 'Rhoda', on thirty-seven episodes of 'The Rockford Files' between 1974 and 1979, on eight of 'Bret Maverick', 'The Fall Guy', 'Magnum, P.I.', 'Hill Street Blues', then on eight TV movies of 'The Rockford Files' between 1994 and 1999, '30 Rock', 'NCIS', and 'The X-Files' most recently in 2018. Margolin had been Directing TV shows since the early '70's, including episodes of 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show', 'The Love Boat', 'Magnum, P.I.', 'Bret Maverick', 'Quantum Leap', 'Wonder Woman', 'Northern Exposure' and 'The Rockford Files'. All up Margolin won six awards and was nominated another seven times with two Primetime Emmy Award wins for 'The Rockford Files' and a DGA Award win for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programmes with 'Salt Water Moose' in 1996.

* Stephen 'tWitch' Boss - born 29th September 1982 and died 13th December 2022, aged 40. Boss was an American freestyle hip hop dancer, choreographer, Actor, television Producer, and TV personality. In 2008, he finished in second place on the American version of 'So You Think You Can Dance'. From 2014 to mid-2022, he was featured on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' as a repeated guest host and he was also a Co-Executive Producer across 101 episodes of the programme. Boss generated twenty-nine screen acting credits throughout his career which began with an uncredited role in the 2006 feature film 'Blades of Glory' with Will Ferrell and Jon Heder which he would followup with 'Hairspray' in 2007 with John Travolta, then 'Stomp the Yard 2 : Homecoming' in 2010, 'Step Up 3D' in 2010, 'Step Up Revolution' in 2012, 'Step Up All In' in 2014, 'Magic Mike XXL' in 2015, 'Ghostbusters' in 2016 with the TV movie 'So Close' in 2018 being his last screen credit. 

* Michael Reed - born 7th July 1929 and died 15th December 2022, aged 93. Reed was a British Cinematographer who amassed fifty-one cinematography credits to his name in a career spanning from his debut on two episodes of the TV series 'Sword of Freedom' in 1957 and '58 and on thirty-one episodes of 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' also from 1957 to 1958 with his first feature film coming in 1959 with 'The Ugly Duckling'. Following on from this, his other more noteworthy feature films took in the likes of 'The Devil-Ship Pirates' in 1964 with Christopher Lee, 'The Gorgon' also in 1964 with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, 'Dracula : Prince of Darkness' in 1966 with Christopher Lee again, 'Rasputin : The Mad Monk' in 1966 with Christopher Lee once again, 'Two a Penny' in 1967 with Cliff Richard, 'The Fiction Makers' in 1968 with Roger Moore, 'Guns in the Heather' in 1969 with Kurt Russell, 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' in 1969 with George Lazenby as James Bond, 'Z.P.G.' in 1972 with Oliver Reed, 'The Groundstar Conspiracy' in 1972 with George Peppard, 'The Hireling' in 1973 with Robert Shaw, 'Galileo' in 1975 with Topol and Edward Fox, 'Shout at the Devil' in 1976 with Roger Moore and Lee Marvin, 'The Passage' in 1979 with Anthony Quinn and James Mason, 'Loophole' in 1981 with Martin Sheen and Albert Finney, 'Wild Geese II' in 1985 with Scott Glenn and Edward Fox with 'God's Outlaw' in 1986 being his final film credit. In the meantime, he also lensed twenty-three episodes of 'The Saint' with Roger Moore between 1966 and 1968, ten episodes of 'The New Avengers' in 1976, and five episodes of 'Press Gang' in 1990 being his final credit. 

* James J. Murakami - born 4th June 1931 and died 15th December 2022, aged 91. Murakami was an American Art Director and Production Designer who accumulated twenty credits as the former and thirty-eight as the latter over a career that began in 1973 as an uncredited set designer on the 'Tom Sawyer' feature film. His debut as Art Director came with the made for TV movie 'The Other Side of Hell' in 1978, which he would follow up over the next twenty+ years with the likes of 'WarGames' in 1983, 'Beverly Hills Cop' in 1984, 'Beverly Hills Cop II' in 1987, 'Midnight Run' in 1988, 'True Romance' in 1993, 'Crimson Tide' in 1995, 'The Relic' in 1997, 'The Game' in 1997, 'Enemy of the State' in 1998 and then on twenty-four episodes of 'Deadwood' between 2004 and 2005 being his final credit. He also worked as Production Designer on a number of Clint Eastwood Directed films including 'Letters from Iwo Jima' in 2006, 'Changeling' in 2008, 'Gran Torino' in 2008, 'Invictus' in 2009, 'J. Edgar' in 2011, 'Trouble with the Curve' in 2012, 'Jersey Boys' in 2014, 'American Sniper' in 2014, and 'Sully' in 2016. All up Murakami won three awards including a Primetime Emmy Award for 'Deadwood' and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Art Directors Guild, plus nine other nominations including an Oscar and a BAFTA nod for 'Changeling'.

* Jane Sherwin - born 3rd November 1934 and died 16th December 2022, aged 88. Sherwin was a British Actress who notched up just eleven screen acting credits during her brief career in front of the camera from 1969 until 1981, beginning with five episodes on 'Dr. Who' in 1969. Thereafter she would have sporadic roles mostly in single episodes of TV series including 'Softly Softly : Task Force', 'Coronation Street', 'Barlow at Large', 'Blake's 7', 'Agony' and 'Cribb' being her final screen role in 1981. Following her departure from her acting career and the end of her marriage to Actor, Writer and Producer Derrick Sherwin in 1982, Sherwin took on voluntary work for worthy causes, including Amnesty International (being the Central America Co-ordinator for the British Section), Refugees and the Homeless.

* Doreen Brownstone - born 28th September 1922 and died 16th December 2022, aged 100. Brownstone was an English born Canadian Actress who started acting in the RAF during WWII, moved to Winnipeg as a war bride, and, in 1958, starred in the very first production at the very first regional theatre in North America in 'Hatful of Rain' at Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. During her screen career she notched up thirty-four roles beginning with her debut on 'House of Pride' between 1974 and 1976. Her first feature film came in 1983 in 'Gentle Sinners' and she would follow this up with the likes of 'The Stone Angel' in 2007 with Ellen Burstyn and Elliot Page, 'High Life' in 2009 with Timothy Olyphant, 'Silent Night' in 2012 with Malcolm McDowell with the TV movie 'Journey Back to Christmas' in 2016 and the short film 'Therapy' in 2018 being her final screen role. She also had roles in TV series 'The Murdoch Mysteries', 'Falcon Beach', 'Sunnyside' and four episodes of 'Channel Zero' in 2018. In 2017, Brownstone was invested into the Order of Manitoba, the Canadian province's highest honour, and she was also the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Winnipeg Arts Council.

* Maggie Thrett - born Diane Pine on 18th November 1946 and died 18th December 2022, aged 76. Thrett was an American Actress and singer who notched up just fifteen screen acting roles during her career which began in 1966 on a single episode of the TV series 'Run for Your Life' and ended just eight years later in 1974 on a single episode of 'Run, Joe, Run'. In the meantime, she would have roles in the feature films 'Out of Sight' in 1966, 'Dimension 5' that same year, 'The Devil's Brigade' in 1968 with William Holden and Cliff Robertson, 'Three in the Attic' also in 1968 and 'Cover Me Babe' in 1970 with Robert Forster and Sondra Locke. There were also appearances on TV series including 'Star Trek', 'The Wild Wild West', 'I Dream of Jeannie' and 'McCloud'. In May 1970 she was involved in a road accident while a passenger on a motorcycle. Although she was apparently unharmed, by the mid-'70's she disappeared from the entertainment business, having tired of continual auditioning and Producers' unwanted advances, and chose to concentrate on her recent marriage and raising her three children.

* Sonya Eddy - born 17th June 1967 and died 19th December 2022, aged 55. Eddy was an American Actress of stage, television and cinema who accumulated 138 screen acting roles throughout her career which kicked off on two episodes of 'The Drew Carey Show' in 1995. Her first feature film came in 1996 with 'High School High' with Jon Lovitz, then the likes of 'The Godson' in 1998 with Rodney Dangerfield, 'Patch Adams' also in 1998 with Robin Williams, 'Blast from the Past' in 1999 with Brendan Fraser, 'Inspector Gadget' in 1999 with Matthew Broderick, 'Nutty Professor II : The Klumps' in 2000 with Eddie Murphy, 'Daddy Day Care' in 2003 also with Eddie Murphy, 'Matchstick Men' in 2003 too with Nicolas Cage, 'Coach Carter' in 2005 with Samuel L. Jackson, 'Bad News Bears' in 2005 with Billy Bob Thornton, 'Seven Pounds' in 2008 with Will Smith, 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone' in 2013 with Steve Carell, 'Any Day' in 2015 with Sean Bean, 'V/H/S/99' in 2022, and 'Satanic Hispanics' in 2022 being her final film role. In the intervening years there were also numerous appearances on TV shows including 'Beverly Hills, 90210', '3rd Rock from the Sun', 'Seinfeld', 'Touched by an Angel', 'Diagnosis Murder', 'Monk', 'House', 'ER', 'Desperate Housewives', 'Glee', '2 Broke Girls', 'Fresh off the Boat' and on 543 episodes of 'General Hospital' between 2006 and 2022. 

* Diane McBain - born 18th May 1941 and died 21st December 2022, aged 81. McBain was an American Actress who garnered seventy-two screen acting roles during a career which launched in in 1959 on two episodes of the TV series 'Maverick' with her debut feature film coming in 1960 in 'Ice Palace' with Richard Burton and Robert Ryan. In 1961 she gained top billing in the feature film 'Claudelle Inglish' playing the title role, with other films following including 'The Caretakers' in 1963 with Robert Stack, 'Spinout' in 1966 with Elvis Presley, 'The Delta Factor' in 1970 with Yvette Mimieux with 'Besotted' in 2001 being her final film role. In the years in between there were also appearances on TV shows taking in forty-five episodes on 'Surfside 6', nine of '77 Sunset Strip', 'The Wild Wild West', 'Batman', 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.', 'Love, American Style', 'Mannix', 'Land of the Giants', 'Hawaii Five-O', 'Charlie's Angels', 'Dallas', on twenty episodes of 'Days of Our Lives', 'Knight Rider', on eleven of 'General Hospital' with a single episode on 'Strong Medicine' in 2001 being her last screen role. The victim of a rape attack in the early hours of Christmas morning 1982, McBain chose to rise above her traumatic circumstances and help others as a rape victim counsellor. 

* Tony Barry - born 28th August 1941 and died 21st December 2022, aged 81. Barry was an Australian Actor who notched up 160 screen acting credits throughout his six decade spanning career which began in 1968 on the TV series 'Skippy'. He gained his first feature film role in 1976's 'Break of Day', which he would follow up over the ensuing years with the likes of 'The Mango Tree' in 1977 with Geraldine Fitzgerald, 'Newsfront' in 1978 with Bill Hunter, 'The Odd Angry Shot' in 1979 with Bryan Brown and John Jarratt, 'Goodbye Pork Pie' in 1980, 'Beyond Reasonable Doubt' in 1980 with David Hemmings, 'Pallet on the Floor' in 1984 with Bruce Spence, 'Never Say Die' in 1988 with Temuera Morrison, 'Country Life' in 1994 with Sam Neill, 'Doing Time for Patsy Cline' in 1997 with Richard Roxburgh, 'Road to Nhill' also in 1997, 'Mullet' in 2001 with Ben Mendelsohn, 'Solo' in 2006 with Colin Friels, 'Australia' in 2008 with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, 'Mystery Road' in 2013 with Aaron Pedersen and Hugo Weaving with 'Seriously Red' recently released in 2022 being his final feature film role. In the years in between time, there were many appearances on TV series including 'Matlock Police', 'Chopper Squad', 'The Sullivans', 'The Flying Doctors', 'A Country Practice', 'Blue Heelers', 'Water Rats', 'All Saints', 'Rake', 'The Time of Our Lives' and 'Harrow' most recently. He was the recipient of two award wins and another six nominations including the Special Achievement Award granted by the Film Critics Circle of Australia 'for his extraordinary contribution to the Australian film industry'. He was an environmental and indigenous rights activist and considered himself 'an honorary 'Kiwi'. Barry is the only Australian who was featured on a New Zealand postage stamp. He was for a number of years afflicted by melanoma, culminating in a 2013 leg amputation above the knee, and despite this he battled on and continued his acting career right up to his death. 

* Ronan Vibert - born 23rd February 1964 and died 22nd December 2022, aged 58. Vibert was an English Actor of theatre, cinema and television who generated eighty screen acting roles throughout his career which kick started with a small part in the 1987 feature film 'Empire State'. He would follow this up in 1988 with his next feature film 'On the Black Hill', with more notable cinema outings over the following years including 'Rowing with the Wind' also in 1988 with Hugh Grant, 'Tale of the Mummy' in 1998 with Jason Scott Lee, 'Shadow of the Vampire' in 2000 with John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe, 'The Cat's Meow' in 2001 with Kirsten Dunst, 'The Pianist' in 2002 with Adrien Brody, 'Lara Croft Tomb Raider : The Cradle of Life' in 2003 with Angelina Jolie, 'Tristan + Isolde' in 2006 with James Franco, 'Shanghai' in 2010 with John Cusack, 'Saving Mr. Banks' in 2013 with Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, 'Dracula Untold' in 2014 with Luke Evans, and 'The Snowman' in 2017 with Michael Fassbender being his last film role. In the meantime, and the years since there have been many roles on TV series and made for TV movies, taking in the likes of 'Birds of a Feather', 'Van der Valk', 'Jeeves and Wooster', 'Lovejoy', 'Tales from the Crypt', 'The Scarlet Pimpernel', 'Waking the Dead', 'Midsomer Murders', 'Taggart', 'The Bill', 'The Borgias', 'NCIS : Los Angeles', 'New Tricks', 'Penny Dreadful', 'The Alienist', with 'Carnival Row' in 2019 being his last screen appearance. His stage appearances included 'The Snow Queen', 'Peer Gynt', 'Uncle Vanya' and 'War and Peace', with various stints at the Manchester Royal Exchange, the Bristol Old Vic, The Barbican and the National Theatre.

* Christopher Tucker - born sometime in 1946 and died in December 2022 with his death announced on 22nd December. Tucker was a British make-up artist for film, TV and theatre who specialised in the creation of prosthetic make-up for horror films. Tucker garnered thirty-six make-up department credits to his name in a career which began in 1970 on the feature film 'Julius Caesar' with Charlton Heston and John Gielgud, and following a number of uncredited films, his next credited movie would be 'The Neptune Factor' in 1973 with Ernest Borgnine, then 'Barry McKenzie Holds His Own' in 1974 with Barry Crocker and Barry Humpries, 'The Boys from Brazil' in 1978 with Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier, 'The Elephant Man' in 1980 with Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt, 'Quest for Fire' in 1981 with Ron Perlman, 'The Meaning of Life' in 1983 with the Monty Python ensemble, 'The Company of Wolves' in 1984 with Angela Lansbury, 'Wetherby' in1985 with Vanessa Redgrave and Judi Dench, 'High Spirits' in 1988 with Peter O'Toole and Daryl Hannah with 'The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall' in 2011 being his final make-up designer credit. He also worked on TV series 'War and Remembrance' and 'She-Wolf of London'. Tucker won two awards including a BAFTA win for 'Quest for Fire' and was nominated another four times - twice for BAFTA's for 'The Company of Wolves' and twice for Primetime Emmy's for 'War and Remembrance'. 

* Stephen Greif - born 26th August 1944 and died 23rd December 2022, aged 78. Greif was an English Actor of stage, cinema, television and radio who amassed 136 screen acting roles throughout his six decade career, which began with an uncredited role in the TV series 'Boy Meets Girl' in 1967. His debut big screen role came with 'Nicholas and Alexandra' in 1971 and he would follow this up with roles in other feature films including 'No Sex Please - We're British' in 1973 with Ronnie Corbett, 'The Great Riviera Bank Robbery' in 1979 with Ian McShane, 'Spartan' in 2004 with Val Kilmer and William H. Macy, 'The Upside of Anger' in 2005 with Joan Allen and Kevin Costner, 'Casanova' also in 2005 with Heath Ledger, 'Back in Business' in 2007 with Martin Kemp and Dennis Waterman, 'Shoot on Sight' in 2007 too with Brian Cox and Greta Scacchi, 'Woman in Gold' in 2015 with Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds, 'Risen' in 2016 with Joseph Fiennes and Tom Felton with 'D Is for Detroit' in 2022 being his final screen role. In the intervening years there were many TV series appearances taking in the likes of 'The Persuaders', 'The Protectors', 'Special Branch', 'Dixon of Dock Green', 'The New Avengers', on five episodes of 'Blake's 7', on twelve episodes of 'Citizen Smith', 'Minder', 'The Professionals', 'The House of Eliott', 'EastEnders', 'The Bill', 'Holby City', 'Space Race', 'Silent Witness', 'Coronation Street', 'Doctors', 'The Alienist' and 'The Crown'. Greif also lent his voice talents to numerous video games, the most recent being in 2022 on 'Total War : Warhammer III'. He has also narrated countless audio books, had an extensive repertoire of radio work and has also voiced hundreds of radio and television commercials as well as thousands of cinema and television promos and trailers, on-line games, corporate presentations and Conferences, Narratives and scores of voices for numerous video games. He also appeared in numerous theatrical plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre mostly in and around London. 

* Edie Landau - born Edythe Rudolph on 15th July 1927 and died 24th December 2022, aged 95. Landau was an American film and TV Producer who notched up just eight production credits during her career which spanned just eight years from 1980 to 1988. Her first Producers credit was on 1980's 'Hopscotch' with Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson, then 'Beatlemania' in 1981 and 'The Chosen' that same year with Maximilian Schell and Rod Steiger, 'The Holcroft Covenant' in 1985 with Michael Caine and Anthony Andrews, with the made for TV movies 'The Deadly Game' with George Segal and Robert Morley, 'Separate Tables' with Alan Bates and Julie Christie, 'Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson' with Laurence Olivier and Jackie Gleason, and 'The Christmas Wife' with Jason Robards and Julie Harris in 1988 being her final credit. In 1989, Landau also began operating 'Nannies Unlimited Agency', an exclusive Beverly Hills placement service with clientele including numerous celebrities of the entertainment world.

* John Bird - born 22nd November 1936 and died 24th December 2022, aged 86. Bird was an English Actor and Writer of film, TV, theatre and radio who amassed 127 screen acting roles and thirty-four as a Writer during a career spanning six decades which began with the comedy TV movie 'What's Going on Here?' in 1963. His first big screen role came in 1968 in 'A Dandy in Aspic' with Tom Courtenay and Mia Farrow, then 'The Best House in London' in 1969 with David Hemmings, 'The Breaking of Bumbo' in 1970 with Joanna Lumley, 'Take a Girl Like You' also in 1970 with Oliver Reed and Hayley Mills, 'The Seven-Per-Cent Solution' in 1976 with Alan Arkin, Robert Duvall and Vanessa Redgrave, 'Jabberwocky' in 1977 with Michael Palin, 'A Fish Called Wanda' in 1988 with John Cleese, Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee Curtis with 'Bert & Dickie' in 2012 being his final film credit. In the years in between there were numerous TV shows and made for TV movies including on sixty-one episodes of 'Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life' between 1964 and 1965, 'C.A.T.S. Eyes', 'A Very Peculiar Practice', 'The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole', 'Emmerdale Farm', 'Yes, Prime Minister', on sixteen episodes of 'Joint Account', 'Jonathan Creek' and 'Midsomer Murders' his final screen role in 2017. Bird was the recipient of two BAFTA TV Awards for Best Light Entertainment Performance, one for 'Rory Bremner, Who Else' and four other nominations for Best Light Entertainment Performance for his work with Rory Bremner and John Fortune on 'Bremner, Bird and Fortune'. 

* Rita Walter - born 8th March 1951 and died 25th December 2022, aged 71. Walter was an American Actress of TV and film who garnered just six screen acting roles in a career which began in 1954 on the TV series 'The Secret Storm'. Her next TV role was in 1964 on three episodes of 'Mr. Wizard', and then on 105 uncredited episodes as Patty Duke's body double on 'The Patty Duke Show' between 1963 and 1966. Her first feature film came in 1969's German production 'Time to Live' ('Zeit zu leben'), and then she would have nine episodes between 1972 and 1982 on 'As the World Turns' with her last screen role coming in 1985 in the feature film 'Cry from the Mountain'. Since retiring from acting she had been working as an optician. 

* Christian Roberts - born 17th March 1944, died 26th December 2022, aged 78. Roberts was an English Actor of stage, cinema and television who notched up twenty-three screen roles during his career beginning with two episodes on the BBC2 series 'Theatre 625'. His first big screen role came in 1967 playing the role of the rebellious Denham in 'To Sir, with Love' with Sidney Poitier and Judy Geeson, and he would follow this up with appearances in other movies including 'The Anniversary' with Bette Davis in 1968, 'Twisted Nerve' also in 1968 with Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett and Billie Whitelaw, 'The Desperados' in 1969 with Jack Palance, 'The Adventurers' in 1970 with Charles Aznavour and Candice Bergen 'The Mind of Mr. Soames' also in 1970 with Terence Stamp and Robert Vaughn, 'The Last Valley' in 1971 with Michael Caine and Omar Sharif with the Spanish drama film 'Timanfaya (Amor prohibido)' being his last big screen outing in 1972. In the years in between and since, there were also roles on TV series including 'The Avengers', 'UFO', 'The Persuaders', on six episodes of 'Clochemerle', 'Blake's 7', 'Secret Army', 'Feet First' and a single episode of 'The Bill' in 1992 being his last screen role. In 1980 he joined the board of his family business, Job's Dairy, and was also a Director of the Theatre Royal, Windsor. In 1988 he returned to acting and Produced and starred in 'Return to the Forbidden Planet' and 'From a Jack to a King', both in London's West End. In 1995 he went to live in Barbados in the Caribbean, where he ran the famous 'Lone Star' Restaurant and Hotel on the island's fashionable West Coast.

* Ruggero Deodato - born 7th May 1939 and died 29th December 2022, aged 83. Deodato was an Italian film Director, Screenwriter and occasional Actor who amassed thirty-six Directing credits and twelve as Writer across multiple genres which began with an uncredited gig on 'Hercules, Prisoner of Evil' in 1964. His first credited Directing role came with 'Fenomenal and the Treasure of Tutankamen' in 1968, and he would follow this up with the likes of 'Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man' in 1976, 'Jungle Holocaust' in 1977 with 'Cannibal Holocaust' in 1980 perhaps being his most remembered film. Most remembered as it is considered one of the most controversial and brutal in the history of cinema, which was seized, banned or heavily censored in many countries, and which contained special effects so realistic that they led to Deodato being arrested on suspicion of murder. Some of his other movie titles include 'Cut and Run', 'Body Count', 'The Barbarians', 'Phantom of Death' with Michael York and Donald Pleasence, 'Dial Help', 'The Washing Machine', 'Ballad in Blood' and a segment on 'Deathcember' in 2019 being his final screen output and for which he shared four award wins from horror film festivals around the world. In the meantime, he also Directed a number of TV series taking in 'Ocean', 'We Are Angels' and 'Thinking About Africa'. Deodato also filmed TV commercials extensively throughout his career of which there are reportedly over a thousand for the likes of Fiat, Philips, Carrera, Seat Ibiza, Renault, Kraft, Buitoni, Fanta, De Longhi and Aperol amongst others. Deodato was an influence on film Directors like Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino and Eli Roth, with a cameo appearance in 2007 in Eli Roth's 'Hostel: Part II' in the role of a cannibal.

* Barbara Walters - born 25th September 1929 and died 30th December 2022, aged 93. Walters was an American broadcast journalist and TV personality and was a working journalist from 1951 through until her retirement in 2015. Walters began her career on 'The Today Show' in the early 1960's as a Writer and segment Producer of women's interest stories. Her popularity with viewers resulted in Walters' receiving more airtime, and in 1974, she became co-host of the programme, the first woman to hold such a title on an American news programme. In 1976, she continued to be a pioneer for women in broadcasting by becoming the first female co-anchor of a network evening news programme on the 'ABC Evening News'. Walters worked as a Producer and co-host on the ABC newsmagazine '20/20' from 1979 to 2004. She also became known for an annual special aired on ABC, 'Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People'. Walters interviewed every sitting U.S. president and first lady from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama. She also created, Produced, and co-hosted the ABC daytime talk show 'The View', on which she appeared from 1997 until her retirement. Walters was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1989, and in 2007 received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2000. During her career she interviewed the likes of Boris Yeltzin, Vladimir Putin, Margaret Thatcher, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Michael Jackson, Anna Wintour, Laurence Olivier, Katherine Hepburn, Donald Trump and Joe Biden (before either became the POTUS), and Monica Lewinski. All up Walters was the winner of eighteen awards and a further sixty nominations including eleven Primetime Emmy nods and a win all for 'The Barbara Walters Special', plus thirty Daytime Emmy nominations and four wins mostly for her work on 'The View'. 

With thirty-two deaths reported in December 2022 from the film and television community at large, that community is just a little bit poorer as a result. As many of us the world over are now learning to live with COVID as life reverts almost back to normalcy, despite new variants of the virus being reported and many countries experiencing another wave, we should all, however, continue to be cautious by remembering the basic principles that continue to be advocated. Stay safe and remain healthy wherever you are in the world. R.I.P. you screen legends.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-