Tag: In Memoriam (91-100 of 466)

Jun 3 2011 02:02 PM ET

James Arness, 'Gunsmoke' actor, dies

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James Arness, the actor who gave life to Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, has passed away. According to the Los Angeles Times, Arness died of natural causes in Brentwood, Calif., at the age of 88.

The actor helped lead the charge when it came to TV Westerns, appearing in Gunsmoke‘s first episode back in 1955. It would hardly be its last — the show became one of the longest-running in television history, only surpassed by The Simpsons. Even after the show’s cancellation in 1975, Arness appeared in five Gunsmoke movies, with Gunsmoke: One Man’s Justice being his last project. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 3 2011 09:42 AM ET

Controversial doctor Jack Kevorkian dies

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The Detroit Free Press has reported that controversial doctor Jack Kevorkian passed away Friday at the age of 83. He died following struggles with his heart and kidney.

Kevorkian, who has been nicknamed “Dr. Death,” was an advocate for assisted suicide for terminally ill patients, and even helped over one hundred terminally ill patients in the 1990s end their lives. As one could imagine, this practice wasn’t embraced by all: Kevorkian found himself convicted of second-degree murder in 1999 — and lost his medical license — after a 60 Minutes segment featuring him euthanizing a patient aired on CBS. (Authorities had previously attempted to try him four separate times, but the trials resulted in acquittals and mistrials.)

His story, however, was still of interest ten years later. After Kevorkian was freed in 2007, Al Pacino played the embattled doctor in an HBO movie, You Don’t Know Jack. Pacino also picked up an Emmy win for his work, and thanked the “brilliant and interesting” Kevorkian, who was sitting in the audience.

Jun 1 2011 03:03 PM ET

'Cosby Show' grandmother Clarice Taylor dies

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Clarice Taylor, who had a pivotal recurring role on The Cosby Show, died on Monday, according to People. The actress, who was 93, succumbed to heart failure. One of the founding members of the Negro Ensemble Company, Taylor had a career that spanned the stage, the big and small screen, and radio. She was in the original Broadway cast of The Wiz (as the Good Witch), and had a supporting role in Clint Eastwood’s Play Misty For Me. On The Cosby Show, she played Anna Huxtable, mother of Bill Cosby’s Cliff Huxtable, a role which garnered her an Emmy nomination in 1986. She is survived by two sons and five grandchildren.

May 25 2011 12:46 PM ET

CNBC anchor Mark Haines dies suddenly

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Sad news from CNBC — the network reports that its own Mark Haines, a veteran journalist who was the founding anchor of CNBC’s Squawk Box and co-anchor of Squawk on the Street, died suddenly Tuesday evening in his home. Haines was 65. In a statement to employees, CNBC President Mark Hoffman praised Haines for his “searing wit, profound insight and piercing interview style,” calling him “a constant and trusted presence in business news for more than 20 years. From the dot-com bubble to the tragic events of 9/11 to the depths of the financial crisis,” Hoffman continued, “Mark was always the unflappable pro. Mark loved CNBC and we loved him back. He will be deeply missed.” You can see video of CNBC personalities remembering Haines at the net’s website.

May 23 2011 10:50 AM ET

Australian star Bill Hunter dies at 71

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Australian actor Bill Hunter, who starred in movies from Down Under, including Strictly Ballroom, Muriel’s Wedding, Gallipoli, and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, died of cancer on Saturday, the Associated Press reports. He was 71. According to Rhoda Roberts, the actor’s ex-wife, Hunter decided to take up acting while working as a stuntman in the 1959 movie On the Beach, which was filmed in Melbourne. As Roberts told The Daily Telegraph of Sydney, “He watched Gregory Peck do 27 takes and thought, ‘A mug could do that.’”

Throughout his long career, Hunter won three Best Actor awards from the Australian Film Industry — that country’s equivalent of the Academy Award. A younger generation of Americans, however, might know him best as the voice of an Aussie dentist-slash-scuba-diver in Pixar’s Finding Nemo.

May 16 2011 11:16 AM ET

'Wild One' actress Mary Murphy has died

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Mary Murphy, an actress best known for starring as the virtuous teen who tried to reform a rebel (Marlon Brando) in The Wild One, has died of heart disease, the Associated Press reports. She was 80. Murphy’s career began when a Paramount talent scout discovered her at a coffee shop in the late 1940s. Her career spanned four decades and included roles opposite Tony Curtis (Beachhead) and actor/director Ray Milland (A Man Alone), as well as in TV shows including I Spy, Ironside, and Perry Mason.

May 11 2011 06:37 PM ET

Mia Amber Davis, 'Road Trip' actress, dies at 36

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Mia Amber Davis, an actress and plus-size model who appeared in Road Trip, passed away at 36 years old. According to Fox News, the actress died from complications from routine knee surgery. Along with acting and modeling for companies like Ashley Stewart, Davis also served as a producer: She worked for such programs as The Ricki Lake Show, Change of Heart, and Divorce Court. Davis, however, is most well known for her memorable turn in 2000′s Road Trip as Rhonda, a woman who romances DJ Qualls’ Kyle Edwards.

May 8 2011 10:00 PM ET

Actress Dana Wynter dies at 79

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Actress Dana Wynter, 79, died May 5 of congestive heart failure at a hospital in Ojai, Calif., the Washington Post reports. Wynter starred in 1956 sci-fi classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The B-movie was her first as a leading lady and earned critical acclaim.

In addition to her work on the silver screen, Wynter thrived on television, appearing on The F.B.I., Medical Center, and Cannon.

May 7 2011 01:15 AM ET

Sada Thompson of 'Family' dies at 83

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Sada Thompson, the TV and stage actress best known for playing a no-nonsense mom in the ABC drama Family, died of lung disease, the Los Angeles Times reports. The actress, who lived in Southbury, Conn., was 83.

Thompson earned four Emmy nominations — and won in 1978 – for her memorable role as Kate Lawrence on Family. The immensely relatable drama, which also starred Meredith Baxter and Kristy McNichol, aired on ABC from 1976 to 1980.

Baxter, who played Thompson’s older daughter Nancy in the series, released this statement to the Times: “It saddens me greatly that she’s gone. She was a formidable teacher and a wonderful woman.  I admired her greatly.”

Thompson also earned Obie and Drama Desk awards for her role in “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds,” which opened off-Broadway in 1970. She made numerous TV appearances after Family made her a household name, including guest-starring roles in The Love Boat, Father Dowling Mysteries, Cheers and Law & Order.

May 5 2011 09:59 PM ET

Arthur Laurents, writer of 'West Side Story' and 'Gypsy,' has died at 93

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Arthur Laurents — an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and director who penned the books of watershed musicals West Side Story and Gypsy — died on Thursday due to complications from pneumonia. He was 93. (Deadline first broke the news.) Born in Brooklyn, Laurents wrote training films during World War II, and transitioned to playwriting after the war, finding his first success with 1945′s Home of the Brave, a play about anti-semitism in the armed services. His first major hits, though, were the musicals West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959). Laurents directed Broadway revivals for both shows — Gypsy in 1974 and again in 1989 and 2008, and West Side Story in 2009, when he was 91. He won the Tony for Best Direction for the 1983 Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles.

In film, Laurents wrote the Alfred Hitchcock 1948 thriller Rope, which starred his then-lover Farley Granger, as well as the films Anastasia (1956), Bonjour tristesse (1958), The Way We Were (1973) and The Turning Point (1977), the last of which was nominated for Best Picture.

Most recently, Laurents had signed onto a prospective feature film version of Gypsy starring Barbra Streisand. His partner of over 50 years, actor and real estate developer Tom Hatcher, passed away in 2006.

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