Special effects master Carlo Rambaldi has died. Rambaldi is probably most famous for his work in ET, The Extraterrestrial; Alien; and Dune, but Rambaldi also worked extensively for Mario Bava. The New York Times has an obituary. Here are a video homage, another by Il Centro Sperimentale di […]
Sherman Hemsley has died. Hemsley was most famous as George Jefferson on the tv show, The Jeffersons and Deacon Ernest Frye in Amen. “Years after [The Jeffersons] ended, Hemsley frequently encountered fans who asked him to reenact George’s famous strut from the show’s opening credits. Hemsley said it […]
Screenwriter and director Frank Pierson has died. Pierson wrote such films as Dog Day Afternoon, Cat Ballou, The Anderson Tapes and Cool Hand Luke. Pierson also wrote teleplays for Have Gun Will Travel, The Naked City, Lakota Woman: The Siege at Wounded Knee, Mad Men and The Good […]
Actress Isuzu Yamada has died. Yamada worked with a range of directors including, Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi, Mikio Naruse, Yasujiro Ozu and Kinji Fukasaku. The New York Times has an obituary. The Gutter remembers her with a scene of her performances as Lady Washizu in Throne of Blood. […]
In anticipation of The Elephant Man Joseph Merrick’s birthday next month, Abebooks’ Avid Reader has compiled a short history of John Merrick’s life and a gallery of books about Merrick, sideshow histories and biographies as well as a few promotional cards from the late 19th century.
Author Donald Sobol has died. NPR has an obituary. At All Things Considered, crime novelist Jonathan Hayes remembers Sobol’s famous character, Encyclopedia Brown. “I loved these stories because they were about a kid like me, a kid who solved mysteries with logic and common sense, often exposing the […]