In Memorium (Joe Flaherty Dies: ‘SCTV’ And ‘Freaks And Geeks’ Actor Was 82)

joey con carne wrote:What A Girl Wants is one of those coming-of-age (not a rom-com) films with Amanda Bynes before she lost her fucking mind.

It also stars Colin Firth as her dad.

Feel free to make fun of me but that movie was actually not shitty. Mostly cheesy, but not total shit.

Rusty wrote:Jerry Maguire is the one I always think of when I see her. Or, more accurately, her tits bouncing up and down in Jerry Maguire is what I think of

She was so fucking hot.

She was great in For Love of the Game.

Ben Cross, the English actor best known for his portrayal of the British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams in the 1981 Best Picture Oscar winner Chariots of Fire and as Sarek in the 2009 reboot Star Trek, died today in Vienna after a short illness. He was 72.

The veteran stage and screen star’s family confirmed the news to Deadline.

Cross was born Harry Bernard Cross in London in 1947 to a working-class family. He began acting at a young age, participating in grammar school plays, but left school to work as a window cleaner, waiter, joiner and carpenter before being accepted into London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts at age 22. He excelled at RADA and won the acting school’s prestigious Vanbrugh Prize for performance of the year. He would go on to claim a string of key stage roles and made his big-screen debut on 1977 World War II epic A Bridge Too Far.

Cross’ path to international stardom began in 1978 with his performance in the play Chicago, in which he played Billy Flynn, the slick lawyer of murderess Roxie Hart. His performance prompted his casting in the Brit classic Chariots of Fire, alongside actors such as Ian Charleson, Ian Holm and John Gielgud.

Based on a true story, the box office smash and four-time Oscar winner charted the story of two British track athletes — one a Jew who ran to overcome prejudice and the other a devout Christian who ran for the glory of God — who competed in the 1924 Olympics. For their acclaimed performances as fierce running rivals, Cross and co-star Charleson both won Most Promising Artist of 1981 from the Variety Club Awards.

Cross followed up Chariots of Fire with projects including 10-part BBC drama The Citadel, HBO spy film Steal The Sky, NBC miniseries Twist of Fate and the same network’s Dark Shadows revival. Among notable stage roles that decade were in John Guare’s play Lydie Breeze and opposite Charlton Heston in the revival of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial.

In 1995, Cross starred as the villain Prince Malagant opposite Richard Gere, Sean Connery and Julia Ormond in Columbia Pictures action-adventure pic First Knight, and was cast as Sarek in 2009’s Star Trek, directed and produced by JJ Abrams.

Among recent performances were the CW series Pandora and 2018 action movie The Hurricane Heist and the actor wrapped his last role as Cardinal Mathews in Lionsgate horror The Devil’s Light only 10 days ago.

In post-production is Netflix romance Last Letter from Your Lover, in which Cross starred with Shailene Woodley, Felicity Jones, Joe Alwyn and Callum Turner. The actor also had been cast in development movies including Resilient 3D and Liberty.

Cross, who was married three times and was also a talented and enthusiastic singer, is survived by his wife Deyana Boneva Cross, and his two children, Theo and Lauren, and grandchildren Violet, Zinnia, and Alexander.

His family told us, “Today the world has lost a talent, but our family has lost a beloved husband, dad, and grandpa. He was a born showman and entertainer, a walking encyclopedia of music who could sing anything. He was a man who taught us to embrace our feelings, whatever they may be. We are grateful for the time we had with him. His spirit lives on in our hearts through his words, his music, and the love that we still feel. If you would like to remember him, please make a donation to Save the Children. As he would say, support musicians, love each other, do only good.”

Actor, writer, producer and director Clark Middleton has died. Middleton, known for various roles in Twin Peaks, Law & Order, Kill Bill: Vol. 2 and The Blacklist, was 63.

Middleton’s agent Steve Stone confirmed that the actor died of West Nile Virus on Sunday in his Los Angeles home. The virus can be found in mosquitos and has no cure or vaccine.

“With heavy hearts we announce the passing of a life immanently worthy of celebration: Clark Tinsley Middleton, 63 – beloved actor, writer, director, teacher, hero, husband, beacon, friend. Clark transitioned on October 4th as a result of West Nile Virus, for which there is no known cure. Clark was a beautiful soul who spent a lifetime defying limits and advocating for people with disabilities,” Middleton’s wife Elissa wrote in a statement.

Born in 1957, Middleton was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis when he was just four years old. The actor began his entertainment career in 1983 as part of the congregation in the “Miss Lonelyhearts” episode of American Playhouse.

Throughout the 90’s and early aughts Middleton played a number of supporting roles in various television titles including Law & Order, Jonny Zero, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Additional TV credits include Gotham, The Path and most notably the third season of Twin Peaks. In the 2017 continuation of David Lynch’s mysterious crime series Middleton played Charlie, the husband to Sherilyn Fenn’s Audrey Horne.

From 2014 to 2020 Middleton starred in The Blacklist as Glen Carter, an employee at a Washington D.C. DMV.

Middleton also appeared in a number of feature films including Bail Jumper, The Contenders, Serendipity and Sin City. He also starred as Ernie in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 2. His additional film credits include Gutterbee, Trivia Night, Birdman and Bong Joon-Ho’s 2013 film Snowpiercer.

Blacklist writer Jon Bokenkamp remembered Middleton: “I’m heartbroken. Besides being a truly unique and gifted actor, Clark was simply an incredible guy in every way. He was a whip-smart film nut. He loved his work with a passion. And he was insanely generous of spirit. I was fortunate enough to work with Clark over the past several years, and that relationship developed into a wonderful friendship that I’ll always cherish. I know his entire family at The Blacklist is devastated by this news. Clark was one of the good ones, and we lost him way too soon.”

Beyond the screen, Middleton wrote and produced shorts Idee Fix and My Milonga, also directing the latter.

Middleton, who lived with Rheumatoid Arthritis for more than 50 years, is survived by his wife, his brother and mother.

Memorial contributions can be made to the the Arthritis Foundation arthritis.org/clarkmiddleton

Sean Connery Dies: Beloved James Bond Actor Was 90

Scottish actor Sean Connery has died at the age of 90. His son Jason Connery told the BBC his father had died peacefully in the Bahamas after a long illness.

Famous for his dashing good looks, strapping physique and abundance of charisma, Connery was the first actor to portray James Bond in film, starring in seven entries in the franchise from Dr No to Never Say Never Again. He was also an Oscar-winner for his supporting turn in Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables, his sole nomination from the Academy, and he received two BAFTAs including an honorary Fellowship Award. He was awarded a knighthood in 2000.

Early years

Born in Edinburgh in 1930, Connery joined the Royal Navy at the age of 16 before being discharged three years later on medical grounds. He took numerous other jobs including being a lifeguard, lorry driver and an artist’s model before his bodybuilding led him to place third in a Mr Universe contest in the early 1950s. He was also a keen soccer player and was said to have once been offered a trial at Manchester United by famed manager Matt Busby.

His pathway into acting came via Edinburgh’s King’s Theater, where he helped out backstage before landing a small role in a production of South Pacific, during which time he first encountered Michael Caine; the pair would go on to become close friends. Taking on other small theater roles and extra work, Connery hired agent Richard Hatton in 1957, who helped to steer him into the film and TV world, landing him his first lead role in the BBC’s Requiem For A Heavyweight.

He began to win more film roles, appearing in MGM’s Action Of The Tiger and then the melodrama Another Time, Another Place opposite Lana Turner. The latter role saw him lock horns with Turner’s boyfriend at the time, who reportedly stormed onto the set of the film in a jealous rage and pointed a gun at Connery, who promptly disarmed him and diffused the situation.

A further lead role came in the 1959 Disney fantasy film Darby O’Gill And The Little People, which received good reviews though Connery’s write-ups largely focused on his physical stature.

James Bond

Connery’s career defining moment came in the early 1960s when he landed the role of James Bond. Author Ian Fleming was said to have doubted the casting of Connery, supposedly calling him an “overgrown stuntman”, but was eventually turned around by his impressive undertaking of the part in Dr No, which the actor was said to have landed after persuasion from producer Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli’s wife Dana Broccoli. After the Dr No premiere at the London Pavilion in 1962, Fleming was reported to be so enamoured he wrote Connery’s Scottish heritage into future Bond novels.

The film received a mixed critical response but strong box office performance set the stage for a franchise. Connery would appear in four more Bond entries: initially From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), and You Only Live Twice (1967), before he handed the part over to George Lazenby for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), only to return for two further appearances in Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and Never Say Never Again (1983).

Post-Bond

No actors have ever easily shaken off the Bond branding after retiring from the role, but Connery had always looked to diversify his acting even during his time with the franchise, taking parts in Alfred Hitchcock’s Marnie and Sidney Lumet’s The Hill. Post-Diamonds he appeared in John Huston’s The Man Who Would Be King with his friend Caine, before playing Robin Hood in Robin And Marian, starring opposite Audrey Hepburn.

His brief return to the Bond franchise with controversial pic Never Say Never Again, produced outside of the Eon canon (the film’s name is supposedly a play on the fact Connery had said he would never return to the role), was an unhappy one, leading him to quit acting for a couple of years.

He came back with a bang, however, starring as Franciscan friar William of Baskerville in Jean-Jacques Annaud’s The Name Of The Rose, a film that flopped in the States but was well received in Europe, landing Connery a BAFTA for his performance. Next up was Russell Mulcahy’s Highlander, in which he played the flamboyantly-dressed swordsman Ramirez – a film that was initially poorly received but has since achieved cult status. He followed that with his memorable role as Jimmy Malone in Brian De Palma’s Al Capone pic The Untouchables, a straight-laced Irish-American cop who meets a tough fate; the role won him his sole Oscar.

The late 1980s saw a continued resurgence for Connery, with his turn as a submarine commander in The Hunt For Red October being fondly remembered for that accent (and landing him another BAFTA nomination). He entered the realm of another franchise by playing Indiana Jones’s dad, Henry Jones Sr., in Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, before returning to Robin Hood by playing King Richard The Lionheart in Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves.

Connery continued to act consistently in the 90s in films such as The Rock and First Knight. His last major film role came in 2003 Alan Moore adaptation The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

He was married to Moroccan-French painter Micheline Roquebrune from 1975 until his death. He leaves behind one son, Jason Connery, from his first marriage to Diane Cilento, the Australian actress and author.

Hugh Keays-Byrne, most known for appearing as Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road and Toecutter in the original 1979 Mad Max film, has died. He was 73.

Reps for the actor said he died peacefully on Tuesday morning. Director Brian Trenchard-Smith, who collaborated with Keays-Byrn on The Dragon Flies, paid tribute and confirmed the death on Wednesday.

“Hugh had a generous heart, offering a helping hand to people in need, or a place to stay to a homeless teenager. He cared about social justice and preserving the environment long before these issues became fashionable. His life was governed by his sense of the oneness of humanity. We will miss his example and his friendship. Vale, Hugh,” Trenchard-Smith wrote in his Facebook post, which can be viewed below.

Born in 1947 in Kashmir, India, Keays-Bryne kicked off his acting career in Australia, where he earned his first credits in the 19687 TV series Bellbird, created by Barbara Vernon. Throughout the 60’s and early 70’s Keays-Byrne has appeared in a number of various roles, including as Morrie Grosse in Trenchard-Smith’s 1975 action flick The Dragon Flies.

Keays-Byrne’s acting gigs became more regular throughout the following years with titles including Ben Hall, Rush and Mad Dog Morgan. However, the actor came to fame with George Miller’s Mad Max in 1979. In the original action flick, Keays-Bryne appeared as Toecutter, the leader of the film’s ruthless biker troupe.

More than thirty years later, Miller requested Keays-Byrne return to the Mad Max universe for his 2015 Charlize Theron-Tom Hardy-led Mad Max: Fury Road. In the revamped look at the sci-fi world, Keays-Byrne’s Immortan Joe and his biker gang terrorize Theron’s Furiosa and Hardy’s Max Rockatansky as they seek to liberate the Wasteland.

In addition to his on-screen work, Keays-Byrne trained waith the Royal Shakespeare Company and toured for the troupe’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Additional Hollywood credits part of Keays-Byrne’s sprawling resume include Kangaroo, For Love Alone, Secret Valley and Farscape.

Actor and wrestler Thomas Lister Jr., also known as "Tiny," was found dead in his home Thursday after experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, his manager told CNN.

The 62-year-old actor started feeling sick a week ago, but his symptoms "got really bad, really quick," manager Cindy Cowan said.

He couldn't breathe and felt very weak, she said.

"It literally went so fast," Cowan added.

Lister was best known for his role as Deebo in the "Friday" movie franchise alongside rapper Ice Cube. He also appeared with Hulk Hogan in the World Wrestling Entertainment movie "No Holds Barred."

Lister was supposed to have gone to a set for a new movie last weekend. However, he called to cancel because he was feeling too weak and had a hard time breathing, Cowan said.

"Tiny doesn't miss movies; he took it very seriously," she said.

The actor then canceled plans for a panel scheduled Wednesday for a TV festival via Zoom, according to Cowan.

She said her assistant went to Lister's house that day with some vitamins and antibiotics to check in. Concerned family members also started calling him Wednesday night.

The calls went unanswered, Cowan said.

The next day, a friend of Lister's went to his house and called the police for help when nobody came to the door.

When deputies entered the home, they found Lister dead.

"Mr. Lister's death appears to be of natural causes but will ultimately be determined by the Office of Medical Examiner-Coroner," the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

The death is still under investigation, the statement said.

Jeremy Bulloch, the British actor who starred as bounty hunter Boba Fett in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, died on Thursday in London of complications from Parkinson’s disease, according to his representatives. He was 75.

“We are very sad to announce the death of actor Jeremy Bulloch, earlier today,” his agents at Brown, Simcocks & Andrews said on Thursday. “He died peacefully, in hospital, surrounded by his family, from health complications following his many years living with Parkinson’s disease. Jeremy was best known for the role of Boba Fett in the original Star Wars trilogy. He had a long and happy career spanning more than 45 years. He was devoted to his wife, three sons, and ten grandchildren and they will miss him terribly.”

According to Bulloch’s personal site, “He spent his final weeks in the wonderful care of staff at St. George’s Hospital in Tooting, close to the house where he and his wife Maureen had lived together for more than fifty years. Maureen and two of his sons, Jamie and Robbie, were with him during his final days.”

Bulloch played the mysterious Boba Fett in 1980’s “The Empire Strikes Back” and 1983’s “Return of the Jedi.”

Born in Leicestershire in the English Midlands in 1945, he began acting in 1958 with commercials. He starred at age 17 in “Summer Holiday,” alongside Cliff Richard.

Bulloch took on the role of Boba Fett in 1978 while he was starring in the television comedy series “Agony.” He had previously toplined the BBC soap opera “The Newcomers.” His other credits include the James Bond movie “Octopussy,” and the TV series “Doctor Who” and “Robin of Sherwood.” He also had a cameo in 2005’s “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.”

Daniel Logan, who portrayed a young version of Boba Fett in the 2002 prequel “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones,” paid tribute to the star on Instagram.

Tanya Roberts, That '70s Show and Charlie's Angels Actress, Dead at 65

Tanya Roberts, who co-starred on That ’70s Show and Charlie’s Angels, passed away Sunday. She was 65.

Roberts reportedly collapsed at home following a walk with her dogs on Christmas Eve, a rep for Roberts told TMZ. She was hospitalized and put on a ventilator, but never recovered. The official cause of death is currently unknown.

The actress was perhaps best known as Donna Pinciotti’s mom, Midge, on That 70’s Show, a woman who was consistently the center of attention to all the young neighborhood guys. She appeared in 81 episodes from 1998-2004, but eventually left the series to care for her sick husband.

Roberts had a year-long stint on Charlie’s Angels, playing Julie Rogers in Season 5 (1980-1981). Rogers helped fellow Angels Kris and Kelly (Cheryl Ladd and Jacyln Smith, respectively) solve crimes until the series’ cancellation in 1981. Her other TV credits include The Love Boat, Silk Stalkings, Fantasy Island, The Blues Brothers Animated Series and Barbershop.

Though she began her career as a model in commercials for products like Excedrin, Ultra Brite, Clairol and Cool Ray sunglasses, Roberts ultimately bridged her career to film, where she was best known for starring in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill, in which she played Stacey Sutton opposite of Roger Moore. In addition, she starred in slasher movies and B-films like Tourist Trap, The Beastmaster and Sheena.

Roberts is survived by her husband, Lance, and her sister Barbara Chase.

Tyger wrote:Apparently she’s still alive after all

Tanya Roberts died Monday night at L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Hospital following a bizarre turn of events that included her domestic partner incorrectly telling her rep she had died the day before.

Her partner, Lance O'Brien, tells TMZ ... he got a call from one of Tanya's doctor's Monday night, just after 9 PM, telling him Tanya had passed.

As you've probably heard by now, Lance told her publicist on Sunday Tanya was dead. He tried explaining his mistake Monday, telling us he had visited her in the hospital Sunday, and she suddenly opened her eyes but then shut them and he saw her fade away.

He says he thought she was dead and left, without speaking to medical staff. He got a phone call Monday from Cedars, informing him Tanya was still alive. Tanya's rep, who picked Lance up from the hospital, says he told him, "She died in my arms."

WyldeMan wrote:I will never forget Midge or her sweaters....

RIP Tonya.

UltimateMarvel wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:I will never forget Midge or her sweaters....

RIP Tonya.

Is this why you got alerted with the sexual notification? I was thinking it would be the "Goddesses of the Screen" thread but that's not visible to unregistered users.

Jessica Campbell, whose acting credits included NBC’s beloved, cult classic Freaks and Geeks as well as the 1999 Reese Witherspoon film Election, died unexpectedly at her home in Portland, Oregon on Dec. 29, TMZ reports. She was 38.

A cause of death has not been confirmed, but Campbell reportedly had been experiencing flu-like symptoms the morning of her passing.

Campbell appeared in two episodes of Freaks and Geeks as Amy Andrews (aka Tuba Girl), a McKinley High student who briefly dated Ken (played by Seth Rogen). In the episode “The Little Things,” Amy revealed to Ken that she was born with both male and female sex organs, but her parents decided to have her male organs removed when she was a baby. Ken was initially flummoxed but decided not to let it change their relationship.

Campbell’s first acting role was in the 1992 Sarah Jessica Parker-fronted TV movie In the Best Interest of the Children.

Having long since retired from acting, Campbell was reportedly working as a practitioner of holistic medicine.

“So heartbroken to hear this,” Witherspoon tweeted Wednesday after news of Campbell’s death broke. “Working with Jessica on Election was such a pleasure. I’m sending all my love to Jessica‘s family and loved ones.”

Mira Furlan, Actress on ‘Lost’ and ‘Babylon 5,’ Dies at 65 from West Nile Virus

Mira Furlan, the Croatian actress who portrayed the Minbari ambassador Delenn on the 1990s sci-fi series Babylon 5, has died. She was 65.

Furlan died Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles of complications from West Nile virus, her manager, Chris Roe, announced.

On the big screen, Furlan starred in Emir Kusturica's Palme d'Or-winning When Father Was Away on Business (1985); in Cirkus Columbia (2010), directed by Bosnia's Danis Tanovic; and in Seaburners (2014), a Berlin Festival entry from Turkish helmer Melisa Onel.

She also was known for her recurring turn as the French researcher Danielle Rousseau on ABC's Lost.

Furlan appeared on 111 episodes over all five seasons (1993-98) of Warner Bros. TV's Babylon 5, which aired in syndication and on TNT. On Twitter, series creator J. Michael Straczynski paid tribute to her and noted her "fiery and fearless side that fought ceaselessly for her art."

   It is a night of great sadness, for our friend and comrade had gone down the road where we cannot reach her. But as with all things, we will catch up with her in time, and I believe she will have many stories to tell us, and many new roles to share with the universe. pic.twitter.com/HyQlqyC19v

   — J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) January 22, 2021

Born on Sept. 7, 1955, in Zagreb in the former Yugoslavia, Furlan starred on stage for the Croatian National Theatre and emigrated to the U.S. in 1991.

Survivors include her husband, Goran Gajić.

Roe shared an excerpt from an autobiography that Furlan was working on:

"I look at the stars. It's a clear night and the Milky Way seems so near. That's where I'll be going soon. 'We're all star stuff.' I suddenly remember Delenn's line from [Straczynski's] script. Not a bad prospect. I am not afraid. In the meantime, let me close my eyes and sense the beauty around me. And take that breath under the dark sky full of stars. Breathe in. Breathe out. That's all."

Rusty wrote:Fuck. West Nile Virus. That's pretty random.

Emmy and Tony winner Hal Holbrook, an actor best known for his role as Mark Twain, whom he portrayed for decades in one-man shows, died on Jan. 23. He was 95.

Holbrook’s personal assistant, Joyce Cohen, confirmed his death to the New York Times on Monday night.

Holbrook played the American novelist in a solo show called “Mark Twain Tonight!” that he directed himself and for which he won the best actor Tony in 1966. He returned to Broadway with the show in 1977 and 2005 and appeared in it more than 2,200 times (as of 2010) in legit venues across the country. He began performing the show in 1954.

He received an Emmy nomination for a TV adaptation of “Mark Twain Tonight!” in 1967, the first of multiple noms. He won four Emmy Awards.

He also drew an Oscar nomination for supporting actor for his role in the film “Into the Wild” in 2008. At the time of the nomination, the 82-year-old Holbrook was the oldest performer to ever receive such recognition.

Holbrook’s craggy voice and appearance lent itself to historical portrayals and other parts that required gravitas. Indeed, he also played Abraham Lincoln, winning an Emmy in 1976 for the NBC miniseries “Lincoln” and reprising the role in the ABC miniseries “North and South” in 1985 and its sequel the following year. Moreover he won his first Emmy, in 1970, for his role as the title character in the brief but highly regarded series “The Bold Ones: The Senator.” He played the commander-in-chief in 1980 film “The Kidnapping of the President”; a senior judge tempted into vigilante justice in “The Star Chamber”; and John Adams in the 1984 miniseries “George Washington.” Much later, he played the assistant secretary of state on a couple of episodes of “The West Wing,” and most recently he played a conservative Republican congressman in Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” and a judge in the 2013 historical drama “Savannah.”

In 1978 he was nominated for an Emmy for his role in a TV adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” as the Stage Manager, another role with which he is strongly associated.

Earlier, he drew an Emmy nomination for a noted role as a man who reveals his homosexuality in the ahead-of-its-time ABC 1972 telepic “That Certain Summer,” co-starring Martin Sheen.

He recurred on the late ’80s Linda Bloodworth sitcom “Designing Women” as the boyfriend to his real-life wife, Dixie Carter; his character on that show was killed off so he could take one of the starring roles in another CBS-Bloodworth effort, the Burt Reynolds starrer “Evening Shade,” in which he played Reynolds’ irascible father-in-law. He appeared in 79 episodes of the show from 1990-94.

Holbrook also directed four episodes of “Designing Women.”

In 2006 the actor guested on “The Sopranos” as a terminally ill patient who imparts some wisdom to the hospitalized Tony Soprano.

Holbrook’s inimitable voice, full of a world-weary integrity, was inevitably attractive to documentary makers and feature film directors requiring narration or voiceover. He narrated docus such as “The Might Mississippi” and “The Cultivated Life: Thomas Jefferson and Wine” and movies including 2011’s “Water for Elephants.” He won an Emmy in 1989 for narrating the “Alaska” segment of the “Portrait of America” documentary series.

The actor made a deep impression on the bigscreen as well, playing Deep Throat in “All the President’s Men” — it was he who intoned the famous words “Follow the money!”; a power-mad police lieutenant in the Dirty Harry movie “Magnum Force”; and, in a brief and underappreciated performance, a stockbroker warning of the dangers of ethical lapses in Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street.”

Harold Rowe “Hal” Holbrook, Jr. was born in Cleveland; his mother was a vaudeville dancer. He was raised in South Weymouth, Mass., and graduated from Ohio’s Denison U., where an honors project about Twain led him to develop “Mark Twain Tonight.” Serving in the Army in WWII, Holbrook was stationed in Newfoundland, where he performed in theater productions including the play “Madam Precious.”

Ed Sullivan saw him perform “Mark Twain Tonight” and gave the young thesp his first national exposure on his television show in February 1956.

Holbrook was a member of summer stock legit troupe the Valley Players, based in Holyoke, Mass., and opened its 1957 season with a perf of “Mark Twain Tonight.” The State Dept. sent him on a tour of Europe that included appearances behind the Iron Curtain, and Holbrook first played the role Off Broadway in 1959. Columbia Records recorded an album of excerpts from the show.

On Broadway, Holbrook played the role of the Major in the original production of Arthur Miller’s “Incident at Vichy” in 1964. In 1968 he was one of the replacements for Richard Kiley in the original Broadway production of “Man of La Mancha” despite limited ability as a singer.

As Holbrook approached his mid-80s, he remained a busy actor, including multi-episode appearances on FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” and NBC’s “The Event.” In 2011 he was also in an independent film, the thriller “Good Day for It,” in whose conception he was intimately involved, and he appeared as a science teacher who knows the truth in Gus Van Sant’s anti-fracking film “Promised Land.”

Holbrook’s memoir “Harold: The Boy Who Became Mark Twain” was published in September 2011.

In 2014, Holbrook was the subject of the documentary “Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey,” directed by Scott Teems, which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival and depicted Holbrook’s career portraying Twain. Holbrook appeared as Red Hudmore on the final season of “Bones” in 2017, and appeared in an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Hawaii Five-0” that same year. In September 2017, Holbrook announced his retirement from “Mark Twain Tonight.”

Holbrook was married three times. He and Carter were married in 1984 and remained together until her death in 2010.

He is survived by his three children and two stepdaughters, as well as two grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.

Christopher Plummer, who starred in The Sound of Music, won an Oscar for Beginners and was nominated for All the Money in the World and The Last Station, died peacefully today at his home in Connecticut, his family confirmed. Elaine Taylor, his wife and true best friend for 53 years, was by his side.

Lou Pitt, his longtime friend and manager of 46 years said; “Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old fashion manners, self deprecating humor and the music of words. He was a National Treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots. Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come. He will forever be with us.”

Plummer spent the past 75 years as a stalwart of stage and screen, the latter of which covered more than 100 film. He is best known for playing Captain John Von Trapp in 1965 Robert Wise-directed classic The Sound of Music, but he won his Oscar for the 2010 film Beginners, and he was most recently Oscar nominated for the Ridley Scott-directed All The Money In The World. In that film, he replaced Kevin Spacey in the role of J Paul Getty, after Spacey had an #MeToo downfall. Plummer most recently costarred in the ensemble of the Rian Johnson-directed Knives Out.

Raised in Montreal, Plummer began his professional career on stage and radio in both French and English. After Eva Le Gallienne gave him his New York debut (1954) he went on to star in many celebrated productions on Broadway and London’s West End winning accolades on both sides of the Atlantic.

He won two Tony Awards for the musical Cyrano and for Barrymore plus seven Tony nominations, his latest for his King Lear (2004) and for his Clarence Darrow in Inherit the Wind (2007); also three Drama Desk Awards and the National Arts Club Medal. A former leading member of the Royal National Theatre under Sir Laurence Olivier and the Royal Shakespeare Company under Sir Peter Hall, where he won London’s Evening Standard Award for Best Actor in Becket; he has also led Canada’s Stratford Festival in its formative years under Sir Tyrone Guthrie and Michael Langham.

Since Sidney Lumet introduced him to the screen in Stage Struck (1958), his range of notable films include The Man Who Would Be King, Battle of Britain, Waterloo, Fall of The Roman Empire, Star Trek VI, Twelve Monkeys and the 1965 Oscar-winning The Sound of Music. More recent films include The Insider as Mike Wallace; (National Film Critics Award), the acclaimed A Beautiful Mind, Man in the Chair, Must Love Dogs, National Treasure, Syriana and Inside Man. His TV appearances, which number close to 100, include the Emmy-winning BBC Hamlet at Elsinore playing the title role; the Emmy-winning productions The Thornbirds, Nuremberg, Little Moon of Alban and HBO’s Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight earning him seven Emmy nominations and taking home two Emmys. He was last seen in the Canadian series, Departures. Apart from honors in the UK, USA, Austria and Canada, he was the first performer to receive the Jason Robards Award in memory of his great friend, the Edwin Booth Award and the Sir John Gielgud Quill Award. In 1968, sanctioned by Elizabeth II, he was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada (an honorary knighthood). An Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts at Juilliard, he also received the Governor General’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. In 1986 he was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame and in 2000 Canada’s Walk of Fame. Plummer’s projects include the highly praised animated films Up, 9 as well as the title role in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, directed by Terry Gilliam.

He played the great novelist Tolstoy opposite Helen Mirren in The Last Station for Sony Classics where he received his first Academy Award nomination in 2010. He followed that up the next year with another nomination and a win for Best Supporting Actor in Beginners from writer/director Mike Mills and appeared in David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo that same year. In July and August 2012, he returned to the Stratford Festival to perform his one-man show that he created entitled A Word or Two, directed by Des McAnuff. In 2013, he starred opposite Oscar winner Shirley MacLaine in Elsa & Fred directed by Michael Radford, Hector And The Search for Happiness directed by Peter Chelsom, Danny Collins opposite Al Pacino and Annette Benning for writer/director Dan Fogelman and The Forger opposite John Travolta directed by Phillip Martin. In 2015, he starred in Remember, directed by Atom Egoyan and in 2017 The Exception, based on the novel “The Kaiser’s Last Kiss” co-starring Lily James, Jai Courtney and Janet McTeer and The Man Who Invented Christmas, co-starring Dan Stevens. That same year he replaced Kevin Spacey in All the Money in the World, earning him his fourth Golden Globe and third Academy Award nominations. Boundaries for Sony Classics, co-starring Vera Farmiga in 2018, and Last Full Measure with Sebastian Stan, Ed Harris and Samuel L. Jackson. He was recently seen in the very successful KNIVES OUT starring Daniel Craig and Chris Evans. His recent self-written best selling memoir, In Spite of Myself (Alfred A. Knopf Publishers) praised by critics and public remains a best seller.

George Segal Dies: Oscar-Nominated Actor & ‘The Goldbergs’ Star Was 87

George Segal, the Oscar-nominated actor whose credits range from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Where’s Poppa? to Just Shoot Me and The Goldbergs, died today. He was 87.

His wife, Sonia Segal confirmed the news. “The family is devastated to announce that this morning George Segal passed away due to complications from bypass surgery,” she said in a statement.

For the past eight years, Segal had been a series regular on ABC’s comedy series The Goldbergs. The last episode of the 1980s family comedy that he filmed before his death, Episode 16 of the show’s current eighth season, is set to air April 7. The series is expected to pay tribute to Segal on-air.

Segal, an Oscar nominee for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, is probably best known for his TV sitcom roles as magazine publisher Jack Gallo on NBC’s Just Shoot Me!, a role which earned him a Golden Globe nomination, and as Albert “Pops” Solomon on The Goldbergs. He also headlined the late-’80s ABC detective drama Murphy’s Law TV Land sitcom Retired at 35.

Jessica Walter, the award-winning actress whose career spanned six decades, passed away in her sleep at home in New York City on Wednesday, March 24. She was 80.

Walter’s career included everything from a standout turn in Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut, Play Misty for Me, to The Flamingo Kid and her Emmy-nominated turns on Trapper John M..D. and Streets of San Francisco. For her performance as Lucille Bluth in Arrested Development, Walter earned yet another Emmy nomination and two SAG nominations.

Walter won an Emmy starring in Amy Prentiss, an Ironside spinoff in the mid-1970s about a young San Francisco police detective. She also voiced Malory Archer on FXX’s animated series Archer.

Walter served as 2nd National Vice President of the Screen Actors Guild, and was an elected member of the SAG Board of Directors for over a decade.

As news of her passing spread, Walter’s Arrested co-stars and many others began to weigh in, with co-star David Cross calling her “an absolutely brilliant actress and amazing talent.” See those tributes here.

Walter began her career in her hometown of New York City where she appeared in numerous Broadway productions including Advise and Consent, Neil Simon’s Rumors, A Severed Head, Nightlife and Photo Finish, for which she earned the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Newcomer.

Also on stage, Walter worked at New York’s Playwright’s Horizons and the Los Angeles Theater Center, where she starred in Tartuffe opposite the late Ron Leibman, her Emmy- and Tony-winning husband. She also starred in the Broadway revival of Anything Goes, which picked up several Tony Awards.

Walter is survived by daughter Brooke Bowman, who is SVP Drama Programming at Fox Entertainment, and grandson Micah Heymann.

Bowman said in a statement: “It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of my beloved mom Jessica. A working actor for over six decades, her greatest pleasure was bringing joy to others through her storytelling both on screen and off. While her legacy will live on through her body of work, she will also be remembered by many for her wit, class and overall joie de vivre.”

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Guiding Eyes for the Blind.

Helen McCrory, Peaky Blinders and Penny Dreadful Actress, Dead at 52

British actress Helen McCrory, whose notable TV credits included turns on Peaky Blinders and Penny Dreadful, has died of cancer. She was 52.

McCrory’s husband, Billions star Damian Lewis, shared the news in a tweet on Friday, writing, “I’m heartbroken to announce that after an heroic battle with cancer, the beautiful and mighty woman that is Helen McCrory has died peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family. She died as she lived. Fearlessly. God we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you.”

In recent years, McCrory was perhaps best known on the small screen for playing Shelby family matriarch Aunt Polly on Peaky Blinders, a role she played through Season 5. But her long list of credits also included Penny Dreadful, where she stole scenes as the villainous Madame Kali, Anna Karenina, Fearless and Life, which starred Lewis as protagonist Charlie Crews. Her final credit was the voice of dæmon Stelmaria on HBO’s His Dark Materials.

“Helen’s performance as Polly Gray was inspirational, joyous, transgressive, hilarious and incredibly moving,” reads a statement on Peaky Blinders‘ official Twitter page. “As a person she was off-the-scale charismatic, and deeply caring. We feel so privileged to have worked with her over the last decade. All our thoughts and love are with Damian and family.”

McCrory’s prolific career included many film roles, as well, such as Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter series and Cherie Blair in The Queen. She also appeared in such stage productions as Macbeth, Pride and Prejudice, Twelfth Night and the Greek tragedy Medea, in which she played the title character in 2014.

In addition to Lewis, McCrory is survived by daughter Manon and son Gulliver.

Charles Grodin, the comic, scene-stealing actor of such films as The Heartbreak Kid, Midnight Run and Beethoven who later established himself as a curmudgeonly talk show guest without rival, died today at his home in Wilton, Conn. He was 86.

His son, Nicholas, told The New York Times that the cause of death was bone marrow cancer. A spokesperson said Grodin died peacefully at his home.

Born Charles Sidney Grodin in Pittsburgh, Grodin, who studied under Lee Strasberg, made his big-screen debut in the small role as the duped obstetrician who turns Mia Farrow’s Rosemary over to a coven of witches in Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Grodin graduated to leading man by 1972’s The Heartbreak Kid, the Elaine May film that established his career and set the hapless, dry-wit style that would become his signature.

Though he would achieve fame on screen, Grodin actually began his career on Broadway in Tchin-Tchin (1962), and appeared onstage in Absence of a Cello (1964) and, most successfully, Same Time, Next Year (1975). He directed Lovers and Other Strangers (1968), Thieves (1974) and Unexpected Guests (1977).

At the time Heartbreak Kid was released, Grodin had appeared in a supporting role in Mike Nichols’ 1970 feature Catch-22, and the actor’s association with Nichols-May brand of sophisticated comedy was set. By the end of the decade, he’d costar in Warren Beatty’s Heaven Can Wait (1978) and, a year later, the Albert Brooks An American Family satire Real Life.

Other credits include 1980’s Seems Like Old Times and two infamous flops, one on the small screen (the short-lived 1986 primetime soap spoof Fresno costarring Carol Burnett) and the big-screen Ishtar (1987), lows from which he’d quickly rebound: In 1988, he costarred with Robert De Niro in the hit action comedy Midnight Run. As the annoying accountant Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas, Grodin gave Robert De Niro’s no-nonsense bounty hunter character a perfect antagonist in one of the era’s greatest buddy comedies.

Grodin took one of his career’s various abrupt turns when he starred in the popular family film Beethoven in 1992. Whatever crotchety inclinations he had to repress for the big-dog franchise was given unexpurgated release on what would become his trademark talk show experiences, at first playing the prickly, grumpy deadpan foil for Johnny Carson and, later, David Letterman.

Despite drifting away from acting roles, Grodin maintained his irascible public persona via book writing, guesting and, from 1995-98, as host of his own CNBC talk show and in 2000 as a political commentator for 60 Minutes II. So popular and recognizable was his prickly persona that it could be used as a comic plot point in an episode of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia in which the actor didn’t even appear. Legend has it he was banned from hosting Saturday Night Live by his old pal Lorne Michaels after ad-libbing on an infamous 1977 episode, pretend-forgetting that the show was live.

Grodin won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special in 1978 for The Paul Simon Special, and an American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his performance alongside Kevin Kline in ’93’s Dave.

More recently, Grodin had a recurring role as Louis C.K.’s doctor on FX’s Louie, and appeared in Noah Baumbach’s 2015 film While We’re Young. He played a cheated Ponzi scheme investor in ABC’s 2016 miniseries Madoff.

Grodin is survived by his wife of 38 years, author Elissa Durwood Grodin, their son Nicholas, daughter-in-law Aubrey and granddaughter Geneva, and daughter Marion by a previous marriage.

The family requests that friends and fans consider making a donation to The Innocence Project in his memory: Grodin received the William Kunstler Racial Justice Award and was praised by Governor Pataki for helping revise New York’s Rockefeller Drug Laws, and often said the accomplishment was that of which he was most proud because of its direct impact on improving the lives of others.

joey con carne wrote:Whoa, Michael K. Williams died. Some are reporting an overdose. Dang, way too young.

Tyger wrote:I didn’t know he had a drug problem, but apparently he’s talked about it quite a bit before. Damn.

Rusty wrote:Another fentanyl-laced cocaine overdose. Damn.