Tag: passing

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Comedy genius Sid Caesar passes away at 91

Sid Caesar with Imogene Coca  on “Your Show of Shows”

Comedy great and star of the iconic 1950s TV series “Your Show of Shows” Sid Caesar has died at the age of 91.

From USA Today:

One of television’s original comic stars, Sid Caesar, has died. He was 91 and at home in Los Angeles, according to his friend and former collaborator, Carl Reiner, reports Reuters.

His biographer and friend, Eddy Friedfeld, confirmed the news to the Los Angeles Times. Friedfeld told the paper Caesar died after a brief illness.

Caesar broke TV ground with his now-classic sketch series, Your Show of Shows, which co-starred Imogene Coca and Reiner and ran on NBC from 1950-54. Caesar’s Hour followed and ran through 1957.

Caesar charmed later generations with his turn has the rangy, lovable Coach Calhoun in the Grease movies.

Sid Caesar in the mega-hit movie musical “Grease”
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Shirley Temple Black, iconic Hollywood child star, passes away at 85

Shirley Temple Black

Shirley Temple Black, iconic child star of the 1930s and 1940s, has passed away at the age of 85.

Temple was the No. 1 at the box office draw in Hollywood for four straight years from 1935 through 1938. During this time, 20th Century Fox paid her $50,000 per film.

She was a veteran of 46 features and one-reelers before she turned 13.

She is the youngest person ever to receive an Oscar statuette, miniature or otherwise.

In 1968, President Nixon appointed her a U.S. delegate to the United Nations. She later served as the U.S. ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia and as the State Department’s chief of protocol.

She accepted the Screen Actors Guild’s Life Achievement Award in 2006 but stayed out of the public eye in her final years.

“When I was 3 years old, I was delighted to be told that I was an actress, even though I didn’t know what an actress was,” she said to much laughter at the SAG presentation.

“I have one piece of advice for those of you who want to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award: Start early!”

(source – Hollywood Reporter)

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Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman found dead

Academy Award-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman has been found dead in  his New York apartment.

The New York Post says Hoffman died of an apparent drug overdose.  The cause of death has not yet been determined, but according to NYPD sources, there was evidence of injectable drugs found at the scene.

He has admitted to drug use addiction in the past and had checked into rehab last year for heroine use.

Details to come.

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The “Professor” – Russell Johnson – of Gilligan’s Island fame passes away at 89

Russell Johnson, “the Professor” on Gilligan’s Island, has died at the age of 89.

Johnson, who played Professor Roy Hinkley, died of natural causes at his home in Washington.

Johnson was not in the original opening of the show. He and Mary Ann were referred to as “The rest.” But Bob Denver (“Gilligan”) insisted that they be included, and that happened later.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the hit show about seven men and women stranded together on an island after their ship, the S.S. Minnow, wrecks during a storm.

According to the Washington Post, Johnson’s son, David, died of AIDS in 1994. Mr. Johnson became involved in fundraising work for AIDS research.

The only surviving members of the original cast are Mary Ann and Ginger, played by Tina Louise.

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THE SIMPSONS says goodby to Marcia Wallace

Last night, during the opening credits of The Simpsons, the show’s creators took a moment to pay tribute to Marcia Wallace, who voiced teacher Edna Krabappel on Fox’s long-running animated hit.

Wallace was also famous for her role as the sassy secretary on “The Bob Newhart Show” in the 1970s.

Wallace passed away last month at the age of 70.

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Jean Stapleton of ALL IN THE FAMILY fame dies at 90

Jean Stapleton, who played Archie Bunker’s long-suffering wife Edith in the long-running 1970s television series “All in the Family,” died Friday at her New York City home. She was 90.

Stapleton died of natural causes, her family announced Saturday.
She had been a veteran of stage, film and television when she was cast in the CBS sitcom opposite Carroll O’Connor’s loud-mouthed, bigoted Archie Bunker, who often addressed her as “dingbat.” She won three Emmys for the role.
While her famed “dingbat-ness” was a source of constant comedy on the show, I think it was her quiet, intimate moments when “Edith” questioned life that moved me most.  
Even as a young teenager I remember “Edith” becoming close friends with a transgender person/drag performer known as Beverly LaSalle (Lori Shannon) who came into their lives when Archie saved his life when he required CPR, remaining friends with him, despite Archie’s discomfort.  Edith later had a crisis of faith after Beverly’s death protecting Mike from muggers.
In the episode “Cousin Liz” (in which the Bunkers learn that her recently deceased cousin Liz was a lesbian with a life-partner, Veronica), Edith is at first shocked at the revelation, but quickly throws her arms around Veronica and warmly accepts her as Liz’s “true next-of-kin”, giving her the tea-set Liz’s spouse would have legally inherited. Edith was extremely popular because she was easily the sweetest character on the show, unconditionally loving everyone she knew and also managing to keep high spirits even when she faced tragedy.
(via Chicago Tribune) and (Wikipedia)
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Comedy legend Jonathan Winters dead at 87

The AP is reporting that improvisational comedy legend Jonathan Winters has died at the age of 87.

With a career spanning over 50 years – including The Jonathan Winters Show in the 1950s and  Mork & Mindy in the 1980s – Winters inspired countless performers like Jim Carrey and Robin Winters.

Many of his famous characters were based on people he grew up knowing as a child in Ohio.

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Annette Funicello passes away at 70

The LA Times is reporting that Annette Funicello, the darling of TV’s “The Mickey Mouse Club” in the 1950s who further cemented her status as a pop-culture icon in the ’60s by teaming with Frankie Avalon in a popular series of “beach” movies, died Monday. She was 70.

The former Mouseketeer passed away from complications due to her multiple sclerosis, a disease she battled privately for years before going public in 1992.

Funicello is survived by her husband and three children.