The ALL DEAD Club

Max Rosenthal, Who Became a Character in Son Phil Rosenthal’s TV Projects, Dies at 95

Max Rosenthal, a Holocaust survivor and father of “Everybody Loves Raymond” creator Phil Rosenthal who became a character in many of his son’s TV projects, died June 26 at the age of 95, his son confirmed.

Max Rosenthal was known for his appearances on his son’s food-focused unscripted series, “I’ll Have What Phil’s Having” for PBS and “Somebody Feed Phil” for Netflix. He had a recurring role on “Raymond” during its 1996-2005 run on CBS as Max, a lodge buddy of Peter Boyle’s Frank Barone.

“As heartbroken as we are, we are so grateful that he was our dad, our grandpa, our friend, our favorite and funniest TV star and the role model for how to live 95 years while being the sweet, gentle, kind, compassionate and really, really funny,” Phil Rosenthal wrote Sunday on Instagram. He called him “the biggest influence in my life.”

Max Rosenthal’s wife of more than 60 years and mother of Phil, Helen Rosenthal, died in 2019 at the age of 86.

From his varied TV appearances, Max Rosenthal was known for his wry sense of humor, his natural frugality, warmth and curiosity. In January 2015, when Phil Rosenthal traveled to Miami to interview Norman Lear for an industry conference, Max and Helen accompanied him. Max was spotted during the day attending conference sessions with a yellow legal pad in hand, taking notes and cheering his son on from the sidelines during his Q&A with the famed producer and philanthropist.

In addition to his son, Max Rosenthal’s survivors include daughter-in-law Monica Horan, an actor and also a “Raymond” regular; a granddaughter, Lily; and grandson, Ben; as well as son Richard (who produces “Somebody Feed Phil”) and his wife, Karen and their children (Max’s grandchildren) Jack and Tess.

Stuart Damon, actor who played Alan Quartermaine on ‘General Hospital,’ dies at 84

Damon was a Broadway actor in his early years, starring in productions including “Do I Hear a Waltz?” He played the Prince in a popular 1965 TV version of “Cinderella,” and he appeared on the British stage and on British TV shows including “The New Avengers” and “The Adventures of Black Beauty.” Damon joined the cast of “General Hospital” in 1977, playing the hospital’s chief of staff. He remained with the show for three decades. His character died in 2007, but Damon continued appearing as a ghost through 2008 and in occasional episodes through 2013. He won a Daytime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1999, as well as a Soap Opera Digest Award in 1996. Damon also appeared on the “General Hospital” spinoff, “Port Charles,” as well as on other soap operas including “As the World Turns” and “Days of Our Lives.”

Digimon, Legend of Korra Voice Actor Philece Sampler Has Died at 67

Accomplished voice actor and television actor Philece Sampler has died. She reportedly suffered a heart attack in her home in Los Angeles on July 1, 2021. Sampler voiced a wide variety of characters across anime and video game series such as Digimon, Eureka Seven, and The Legend of Korra.

According to author Peggy Webb‘s Twitter account, Philece Sampler died unexpectedly at her home. Journalist Nelson Aspen elaborated via a heartfelt Instagram post that the cause of death was a heart attack. In memory of Sampler, Aspen described the actor as a generous and dedicated professional.

Philece Sampler began her acting career on the American soap opera series Days of Our Lives. After her success, she went on to act in another television drama, titled Another World. Sampler then used her range of vocal talents in English-language dubs of anime and video games. Across her career, Sampler even played male roles like Cody from Digimon, and elderly roles such as Toph in The Legend of Korra and Tiptory in Eureka Seven. Recently, she voiced the character of Mayumi Matsushita in AI: The Somnium Files and Mrs. Carpenter in Deadly Premonition 2.

Richard Donner Dies: ‘Superman’, ‘Lethal Weapon’ And ‘The Goonies’ Director Was 91

Richard Donner, the prolific Hollywood director and producer whose helming credits include some of the most iconic movies of the 1970s and ’80s including the Christopher Reeve-starring Superman, The Goonies and the Mel Gibson-Danny Glover buddy cop series Lethal Weapon, has died. He was 91.

Donner passed away Monday, according to his wife, the producer Lauren Schuler Donner, and his business manager. No cause of death has been revealed.

The Bronx-born Donner, a genial man with a booming voice, started his career directing for television. His TV credits include a laundry list of staple shows from the ’60s including Route 66, The Rifleman, The Twilight Zone, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Gilligan’s Island, Perry Mason and The Wild Wild West. His debut feature X-15 in 1961 with Charles Bronson (and a young Mary Tyler Moore) was followed by the 1968 crime comedy Salt & Pepper starring Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford, and 1969’s Lola with Charles Bronson and Susan George. He segued to films full time with 1976’s spooky The Omen.

That led to 1978’s Superman, the original superhero movie that starred Reeve as the Man of Steel along with Margot Kidder, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman and Ned Beatty. The Warner Bros blockbuster with a budget of about $55 million grossed more than $300 million at the global box office. The first movie tentpole based on a superhero comic character, it scored three Oscar nominations and won a special Academy Award for its visual effects. It also cast the die for the superhero franchise space now dominated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Universe of films.

A dispute with the producers famously resulted in Donner taking his name off directing Superman II when Richard Lester was brought in after Donner had shot the majority of the movie; a director’s cut of the film with many of the excised Donner-directed scenes was released in 2006.

By that time however Donner had moved on to other blockbuster successes in just about every genre, directing Jackie Gleason and Richard Pryor in comedy The Toy (1982), and in 1985 helming both the medieval period adventure Ladyhawke and the seminal kids’ adventure pic The Goonies. That pic, about a group of friends hunt for treasure and come of age in in coastal Astoria, OR, had a script penned by Chris Columbus based on a story by Steven Spielberg.

Donner’s final film as a director was 2006’s actioner 16 Blocks starring Bruce Willis (and a reunion with Morse), the latest in a line of action stars the director worked with that included Sylvester Stallone (Assassins), Gerard Butler and Paul Walker (Timeline) and of course Gibson.

Donner and his producer-wife Lauren Schuler Donner produced dozens of films under their The Donners’ Company production banner including the X-Men franchise (Lauren Schuler Donner produced; Richard Donner was an EP) that has spawned a remarkable 13 films over a two-decade span at 20th Century Fox/20th Century Studios, including introducing the world to Ryan Reynolds’ smart-aleck Deadpool. The latest pic in the X-Men series, The New Mutants, bowed in August 2020. In total, those films grossed nearly $2.5 billion globally. The duo also produced 1993’s Free Willy. That modestly-budgeted feel-good film went on to make $153 million globally.

Accomplished filmmaker and actor Robert Downey Sr., dead at 85

Robert Downey Sr., iconic filmmaker of such breakthrough anti-establishment classic films such as “Putney Swope” and “Greaser’s Palace,” died early Wednesday morning in his sleep at his home in New York City, his wife told the Daily News.

Downey, who turned 85 last month and had been battling Parkinson’s disease, also appeared in the movies “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia,” and “To Live And Die in L.A.”

The filmmaker, actor, producer and writer was a life-long New Yorker and the husband of bestselling author Rosemary Rogers and father of actor Robert Downey Jr. Rogers was at home with Downey Sr. when he died.

Chick Vennera, 'Golden Girls' and 'Animaniacs' actor, dead at 74

The star died from lung cancer on Wednesday in his Burbank, Calif. home, his daughter confirmed to Fox News.

Vennera appeared in three episodes of "Golden Girls," playing a man named Pepe in a season four episode before appearing as Enrique Mas in a pair of season five episodes.

Additionally, he was known for voicing multiple characters in the "Animaniacs" cartoon and movies, frequently playing a character called Pesto in a number of projects.

Vennera was born Francis Vennera in Herkimer, New York, Deadline reports, and moved to California after high school. He studied at the famed Pasadena Playhouse before briefly joining the army.

The outlet reports that the star performed in nightclubs when he returned to the West Coast and sang and danced in the Disney on Parade tour.

Outside of Hollywood, he also starred in a touring Broadway production of "Grease" as Doody.

Suzzanne Douglas, 'The Parent 'Hood' star, dead at 64

"The industry has lost a truly talented artist with the passing of Suzzanne Douglas," her publicist Penny Vizcarra said. "She touched everyone who knew her and was lovely in every sense of the word. The family appreciates your support and asks for their privacy during this difficult time.

No cause of death was shared.

Douglas, a Chicago native, had an enviable list of credits that included films like "Whitney," "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" "School of Rock," and "The Inkwell."

On television -- in addition to her most well known role on "The Parent 'Hood" -- she'd appeared in shows like "Bones," "The Good Wife" and "NYPD Blue."
"Suzzanne Douglas was a quiet, elegant force as we made WHEN THEY SEE US," director Ava DuVernay wrote on Twitter. "A gentlewoman. A gem of a lady. A confident, caring actor who breathed life into the words and made them shimmer. I'm grateful that our paths in this life crossed. May she journey on in peace and love."

Her "The Inkwell" co-star Jada Pinkett Smith remembered Douglas as "an elegant, gentle warm spirit."
"My deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. May she rest in love," she wrote.

A well-regarded Broadway and theater performer, Douglas had credits that included "The Threepenny Opera," which she performed opposite Sting, "The Tap Dance Kid" and "Wit," according to her official biography.
"I'm so happy I got to tell you how much I loved your work," Oscar winner Viola Davis added on social media. "RIP Beautiful, talented, dancing, Queen."

Former Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison has died. He was 46 years old.

"We are heartbroken to share the news that Joey Jordison, prolific drummer, musician and artist passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 26th, 2021," a statement from Jordison's family to Billboard reads. "Joey’s death has left us with empty hearts and feelings of indescribable sorrow. To those that knew Joey, understood his quick wit, his gentle personality, giant heart and his love for all things family and music.

"The family of Joey have asked that friends, fans and media understandably respect our need for privacy and peace at this incredibly difficult time," the statement adds. "The family will hold a private funeral service and asks the media and public to respect their wishes."

Jordison formed Slipknot in his native Iowa in 1995 along with percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray. Slipknot announced in December 2013 that Jordison and the band were "parting ways" after nearly two decades together, though the drummer later said in interviews that he was fired. "No band meeting? None. Anything from management? No, nothing," Jordison said in a 2016 interview with Metal Hammer. "All I got was a stupid f---ing email saying I was out of the band that I busted my a-- my whole life to f---ing create.”

In 2016, Jordison revealed that his exit from the band coincided with his getting sick with a disease called transverse myelitis and claimed that his bandmates confused his medical issues with a substance abuse problem. “I lost my legs," he said onstage at 2016's Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards. "I couldn't play anymore. It was a form of multiple sclerosis, which I don't wish on my worst enemy.”

It's unclear from the family statement whether his condition had anything to do with his death.

Before Jordison’s departure, Slipknot earned three top 10s on the Billboard 200, including one No. 1 in All Hope Is Gone (Sept. 13, 2008). That album also ruled the Top Rock Albums and Hard Rock Albums charts. With Jordison, Slipknot also claimed four top 10s on Mainstream Rock Airplay, paced by a No. 2 with “Snuff” in March 2010.

Jordison formed the band Scar the Martyr in 2013 while he was still playing with Slipknot and was playing with Sinsaenum before his death.

Jackie Mason Dead At 93, Turned Kvetching Into Comedy Gold

Jackie Mason, whose staccato, arm-waving delivery and thick Yiddish accent kept the borscht belt style of comedy alive long after the Catskills resorts had shut their doors, and whose career reached new heights in the 1980s with a series of one-man shows on Broadway, died on Saturday in Manhattan. He was 93.

His death, at Mount Sinai Hospital, was confirmed by the lawyer Raoul Felder, a longtime friend.

Mr. Mason regarded the world around him as a nonstop assault on common sense and an affront to his sense of dignity. Gesturing frantically, his forefinger jabbing the air, he would invite the audience to share his sense of disbelief and inhabit his very thin skin, if only for an hour.

“I used to be so self-conscious,” he once said, “that when I attended a football game, every time the players went into a huddle, I thought they were talking about me.” Recalling his early struggles as a comic, he said, “I had to sell furniture to make a living — my own.”

The idea of music in elevators sent him into a tirade: “I live on the first floor; how much music can I hear by the time I get there? The guy on the 28th floor, let him pay for it.”

The humor was punchy, down-to-earth and emphatically Jewish: His last one-man show in New York, in 2008, was titled “The Ultimate Jew.” A former rabbi from a long line of rabbis, Mr. Mason made comic capital as a Jew feeling his way — sometimes nervously, sometimes pugnaciously — through a perplexing gentile world.

“Every time I see a contradiction or hypocrisy in somebody’s behavior,” he once told The Wall Street Journal, “I think of the Talmud and build the joke from there.”

Describing his comic style to The New York Times in 1988, he said, “My humor — it’s a man in a conversation, pointing things out to you.”

“He’s not better than you, he’s just another guy,” he added. “I see life with love — I’m your brother up there — but if I see you make a fool out of yourself, I owe it to you to point that out to you.”

He was born Yacov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wis., on June 9, 1928, to immigrants from Belarus. (Some sources give the year as 1931.) When he was 5, his father, Eli, an Orthodox rabbi, and his mother, Bella (Gitlin) Maza, moved the family to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where Yacov discovered that his path in life had already been determined. Not only his father, but his grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfathers had all been rabbis. His three older brothers became rabbis.

“It was unheard-of to think of anything else,” Mr. Mason said. “But I knew, from the time I’m 12, I had to plot to get out of this, because this is not my calling.”

Charlie Robinson, 'Night Court' actor, dies at 75

Throughout his 50-year career, Robinson appeared in movies such as "Secret Santa," "The River," "Set It Off," "Antwone Fisher," "Jackson," "Even Money" and "Miss Lettie and Me," and TV series including "Buffalo Bill," "Home Improvement," "Mom," "Hart of Dixie," "NCIS" and "The Guestbook."

Born in Houston, Robinson began his career as a theater actor and singer for R&B groups Archie Bell and the Drells and Southern Clouds of Joy. In the late 1960s, Charlie attended Chris Wilson's acting school, Studio 7, at the Houston Music Theatre. He soon moved to Hollywood and began acting for the screen.

In the 1970s, Robinson acted in films such as "Sugar Hill," "The Black Gestapo," "Caribe," "A Killing Affair" and "The White Shadow." In his later career, he appeared in "Beowulf," "Malevolence," "Land of the Free" and "Mercy Street." He directed three episodes of "Night Court" and one episode of "Love & War."

Robinson won awards for his theatrical work, including the Image Theatre Award and FRED Award for portraying Simon in "The Whipping Man" and Best Actor Ovation Award for playing Troy in "Fences." His last performance was as 82-year-old Donald Jones in James Tyler's "Some Old Black Man."

Among the actors who paid tribute to Robinson was "The Wire" star Wendell Pierce, who spent time with Robinson in recent months. "We created a lifetime of friendship" after 27 days of quarantine together, Pierce wrote on Twitter.

Throughout his career, he guest-starred in television shows including "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "Key and Peele," "This Is Us," "Malcolm & Eddie" and "In The House."

Robinson is survived by his wife Dolorita; his children Luca, Charlie, Christian and Byron; and his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, daughters-in-law and dog Nala.

Cinderella Guitarist Jeff LaBar Dead at 58

Jeff LaBar, best known as the guitarist for glam metal band Cinderella, has died. His son Sebastian confirmed the news on Wednesday via a social media post. He was 58. The cause of death was not disclosed.

“My father, my hero, my idol, passed away today. I’m currently at a loss for words. I love you pop!,” Sebastian wrote via Instagram. “If you could, please share pictures or video of all the fun times we all had with my dad. It would be greatly appreciated.”

LaBar linked up with Cinderella in 1985, after founding guitarist Michael Schermick departed. He joined the Philadelphia band as they were signing to Mercury/Polygram and remained in the band through 2017. In 1986, they released their debut album, Night Songs. The LP’s breakthrough single “Nobody’s Fool” reached Number 13 and the album hit Number 3 on the Billboard 200. They subsequently toured with Poison, David Lee Roth, and Bon Jovi.

Their sophomore album, 1988’s Long Cold Winter, contained their biggest hit, “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone).” The power ballad hit Number 12 on Billboard Hot 100. The LP tipped to frontman Tom Keifer’s penchant for blues rock, which continued to flavor their final two albums, 1990’s Heartbreak Station and 1994’s Still Climbing. In between, Keifer lost his voice due to vocal cord issues. Cinderella went on hiatus in 1995.

A year later, they returned for a tour and a greatest hits compilation. They continued to tour in the early 2000s and in 2006, they marked their 20th anniversary of their debut album, alongside Poison. Keifer’s vocal cord issues derailed another planned tour in 2008, but they resumed hitting the road a few years later, which included a 25th anniversary tour in 2011, and a rock cruise in 2013. In 2017, after years of inaction, Keifer announced that Cinderella would not reunite.

Biz Markie, Hip-Hop’s ‘Just a Friend’ Clown Prince, Dies at 57

On July 16, Biz Markie (Marcel Theo Hall, born in New York, 1964) died in a Baltimore, Maryland hospital after a long bout with diabetes.

Rumors of Hall’s death circulated among hip hop fans earlier this month although they proved to be false. The entertainer was hospitalized in April 2020 due to his medical condition and later placed in a rehabilitation clinic after suffering a stroke while in a diabetic coma. “It is with profound sadness that we announce, this evening, with his wife Tara by his side, Hip Hop pioneer Biz Markie peacefully passed away. We are grateful for the many calls and prayers of support that we have received during this difficult time,” explained a press release by Hall-Markie’s manager, Jenni Izumi.

Biz Markie was a founding member of the late 1980s-early 1990s, Queens-based Juice Crew. The hip hop collective formed a loose-knit “supergroup” around the production of beat maker Marley Marl (Marlon Williams, born 1962) and the rap label Cold Chillin’ Records. Markie’s first album, Goin’ Off (1988), was the label’s second commercial release following Down by Law, a 1987 hit for fellow Juice Crew member MC Shan (Shawn Moltke).

Markie, noteworthy for his charismatic and down to earth personality, was not primarily a “lyricist.” The New York Times describes his “often mundane lyrics,” delivered in a sloppy and stilted drawl, as winning him recognition as “the resident court jester of the Queensbridge-based collective.”

The rapper described in an interview how he became associated with the Juice Crew by first receiving assistance in writing and rhyming from other members. Then, when “I felt that I was good enough, I went to Marley Marl’s house and sat on his stoop every day until he noticed me, and that’s how I got my start.”

In addition, being a rapper, Markie excelled as a human beat boxer. He used this talent to maximum effect on his records, producing memorable robot-like sound effects and turns of phrase that are instantly recognizable to fans of the genre, particularly in the decade following his first releases.

While his vocals were not outstanding, Biz Markie brought a relatable quality to his records that stands out. A Pitchfork review of his 2003 Tommy Boy Records album Weekend Warrior commented that it was “precisely [his] illusion of stupefying averageness that has made Biz Markie one of hip-hop’s most treasured and wholly original emcees. In a genre that often takes itself too seriously (the murders of Scott La Rock, Biggie, 2pac, Big L, etc. [with] wildly dualistic stereotypes (Benz or backpack), Biz Markie’s easygoing persona seems to exist outside all popular hip-hop caricatures.”

Biz was at his self-deprecating best on the 1989 hit single “Just A Friend” The song, which caused the Times to dub him “the father of modern bad singing” (a compliment, in this case), features an instantly recognizable piano loop and chorus lifting lyrics from the 1968 Freddie Scott song “(You) Got What I Need.”

Biz proceeds to narrate a story of how a romantic interest (named “Blah Blah Blah”!) broke his heart after the he discovers the various male “friends” that his girlfriend acknowledged happen to be more than that.

Science fiction/fantasy artist Stephen Hickman dies at age 72

Stephen Forrest Hickman, 72, of Red Hook, NY, died of natural causes at home with his beloved wife Vicki at his side. In addition to her, his survivors include his daughters, Aurora and Zara, and his brother Lance.

Artist, illustrator, sculptor and author, Hickman was best known for his work in science fiction and fantasy, with over 350 book and magazine covers to his credit. His works illustrated the stories of Robert A. Heinlein, H. P. Lovecraft, J. R. R. Tolkien, Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman, George R. Martin, Anne McCaffrey, Andre Norton, Larry Niven's Man-Kzin Wars novels, and Steven Brust's Dragaera series. His most widely circulated effort was a series of space fantasy postage stamps done for the United States Postal Service.

Hickman was honored with a Hugo Award (1993, for Achievement in Science Fiction and Fantasy), five Chesley Awards, two gold awards from the Spectrum Anthology, and multiple Best of Shows at the World Fantasy and Science Fiction Conventions. He was equally adept at images of high action and calm reflection. He could balance deeply researched technical details with heart-breaking beauty. He had an eye for what was exquisite in a subject and worked to create worlds of wonder and grace that provided glimpses of the ethereal. Many of his most haunting paintings were scenes of life in an imaginary world he created that was also realized in his novel The Lemurian Stone.

Hickman was born in Washington, D.C., the son of John F. and Mary Lee Hickman. With his father in the foreign service, he was already a world traveler before high school, having lived in Manila, Philippines and Karachi, Pakistan. He also lived in Texas and Arizona before his family returned to the Washington area, settling in Alexandria, Virginia. Hickman's father regaled him with tales and stories to which Hickman credited him with inspiring his interest in literature and writing. Hickman's mother introduced him to painting and encouraged him to be original in all things. Both parents were supportive of his creative endeavors.

Hickman read broadly and often quoted two favorites, Mark Twain and H.L. Mencken. He was a master builder of models and boomerangs, customizing them in ways that enhanced their authenticity and aesthetic qualities. He delighted in playing guitar, especially the blues, and was devoted to the work of Robert Johnson.

Stephen touched many lives through his creativity, vision, and mentorship. His encouragement and support were the cornerstones to a variety of pursuits and career-long passions. His legacy will live on through those students, aspiring writers, artists and illustrators.

Actor Reni Santoni, who played Poppie on ‘Seinfeld,’ dead at 81.

Actor Reni Santoni, best known for his work in Dirty Harry and as Poppie on Seinfeld, died Saturday at the age of 81. According to Variety, Santoni’s friend, TV writer and producer Tracy Newman, confirmed his death on August 1 via a Facebook post. “He had been sick for quite a while,” writes Newman. “Those of you who knew him know how funny he was, what a terrific actor, improviser, performer, etc. So brilliant. I loved him very much and will miss him terribly. Another great one is gone.”

Born in New York City, Santoni’s first leading role was as the star of Carl Reiner’s Enter Laughing in 1967, based on Reiner’s autobiographical play of the same name, along with Shelley Winters and Elaine May. After portraying Inspector Chico Gonzalez in 1971’s Dirty Harry, the first of the film series, Santoni took roles in Reiner’s 1982 comedy Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, 1983’s Bad Boys, 1985’s Brewsters Millions, and 2000’s 28 Days, in addition to appearances on shows like Hawaii Five-O, Hill Street Blues, and The Odd Couple.

Seinfeld fans will remember Santoni as the sitcom’s wildly unhygienic, vehemently pro-life restaurant owner Poppie, making appearances in the season-five episode “The Pie,” season-six episodes “The Couch” and “The Doorman,” and in the show’s finale episode. He is survived by a son, Nick.

William Smith, Star of ‘Laredo’ and ‘Rich Man, Poor Man,’ Dies at 88

William Smith, the rugged actor who starred on television on Laredo, Rich Man, Poor Man and Hawaii Five-O and went toe-to-toe with Clint Eastwood and Rod Taylor in two of the more remarkable brawls in movie history, has died. He was 88.

Smith died Monday at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, his wife, Joanne Cervelli Smith, told The Hollywood Reporter. She did not want to reveal the cause of death.

The 6-foot-2 Smith, who was a champion discus thrower at UCLA, an arm-wrestling champion and a black belt in the martial arts, had 18-inch biceps and could do 5,100 continuous sit-ups and reverse curl 163 pounds. As prolific as he was strong, he had a whopping 289 credits on IMDb, seemingly in everything from the ’60s onward.

Smith starred with fellow bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Barbarian (1982) and spoke fluent Russian as a colonel in Red Dawn (1984) — both those films were directed by John Milius — and, as a gang leader named Carrot, battled Yul Brynner with a ball and chain in The Ultimate Warrior (1975).

He was a go-to-guy when casting for biker films, starring in director Jack Starrett’s Run, Angel, Run! (1969) and The Losers (1970); in Angels Die Hard (1970), from Roger Corman’s New World Pictures; in C.C. and Company (1970), starring Joe Namath and Ann-Margret; in Chrome and Hot Leather (1971), opposite Marvin Gaye; and in Gentle Savage (1973) and Eye of the Tiger (1986).

On NBC’s Laredo, Smith starred as gunfighter turned Texas Ranger Joe Riley during that Western’s two seasons (1965-67), and he joined CBS’ original Hawaii Five-O for its final year (1979-80) to portray Det. James “Kimo” Carew.

ABC’s Rich Man, Poor Man, which premiered in February 1976, was the first miniseries broadcast on American television (it preceded Roots by 11 months) and was an adaptation of the Irwin Shaw novel about two German-American brothers (Peter Strauss and Nick Nolte) and their lives after World War II.

Smith appeared late in a vicious turn as the hired thug Anthony Falconetti, then returned the following year for the sequel.

As a sadistic bodybuilder in Darker Than Amber (1970), he participated in a violent free-for-all with Taylor that is regarded as one of the most realistic of all time. Taylor broke three of Smith’s ribs and Smith busted Taylor’s nose during the scene.

“Fight choreography and staging went out the window when Rod decided to really hit me,” Smith remembered in a 2010 interview. “And so the fight was on. That was a real fight with real blood and real broken bones. Rod is a skilled fighter and at the same time a real scrapper. Now that was a good fight!”

After they healed, they worked again in the Western The Deadly Trackers (1973).

In Any Which Way You Can (1980), Smith’s Jack Wilson squares off with Clint Eastwood’s Philo Beddoe in a long bare-knuckle bout through the streets and restaurants of Wyoming. The trailer called it “the most knuckle-busting, gut-wrenching, brain-scrambling, butt-bruising, lip-splitting brawl of all time.”

“It has to be one of the longest two-man fights ever done on film without doubles,” Smith said in an interview for Louis Paul’s 2014 book Tales From the Cult Film Trenches. “We shot it in Jackson, Wyoming, which is about 8,000 feet high in altitude, and I was smoking so hard at the time.”

Speaking of smoking, Smith was the last “Marlboro Man” in commercials before cigarette advertising was discontinued.

Born on a cattle ranch in Columbia, Missouri, on March 24, 1933, Smith and his family moved to Southern California after the Dust Bowl. He was an uncredited child extra on set with Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr. in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) and showed up in The Song of Bernadette (1943), Going My Way (1944), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945).

Smith enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1951, won a boxing championship and served in the Korean War. Fluent in Russian, German, French and Serbo-Croatian, he caught the eye of the CIA and NSA, which gave him a teaching position within the agencies. But while working on his doctorate in foreign-language studies, he landed an acting contract at MGM.

In 1961, he starred on the studio’s ABC police drama The Asphalt Jungle opposite Jack Warden. Two years later, he worked on the BBC series Zero One (its title was the call-sign of the International Air Security Agency) with Nigel Patrick.

An inductee into the Muscle Beach Venice Bodybuilding Hall of Fame, Smith was perfect for the role as Adonis, a henchman for Zsa Zsa Gabor’s evil Minerva on Batman. On the ABC show’s final episode in 1968, he was on the receiving end of a Whamm!!, Zowie!, Splatt!, Crash! and Sock! from Batman, Robin and Batgirl.

He also was unforgettable in the blaxploitation films Hammer (1972), Black Samson (1974) and Boss ****** (1975).

Smith used a ball-and-chain belt on Brynner in the climax of The Ultimate Warrior, and his character ends up falling down a chute filled with rodents. (They smeared Karo syrup and peanut butter on his face to keep the critters in the shot.)

He also played the father of the title character in Conan the Barbarian, writing his own lines for his monologue that opens the film. “No one, no one in this world can you trust … not men, not women, not beasts … this you can trust,” he says pointing to the movie’s iconic steel sword.

Smith remembered besting Schwarzenegger in an arm-wrestling contest and never working with him again. “As he walked out my front door, he turned around and said in German, ‘I will be a movie star,’ and was and is — and now so much more!

“The one thing about Schwarzenegger that I will never forget is that nobody could double him, be his stunt double, because of the shape he was in. He did all his own stunts. He worked 12 hours a day and then he walked two miles. Then he would work out for two hours.”

Smith appeared in the cult movies Piranha (1972), where he said his stunt with a very large anaconda almost cost him his life, as an FBI agent in Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973), and as a drag racer in David Cronenberg’s Fast Company (1979).

He was a spiteful sergeant in Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977), a con man in Robert Aldrich’s The Frisco Kid (1979) and a cop in Francis Ford Coppola’s Rumble Fish (1983).

In addition to his wife of 31 years, survivors include his children, William E. Smith III and Sherri Anne Cervelli.

ZZ Top Bassist Dusty Hill Dies at 72

Joseph “Dusty” Hill, ZZ Top’s bassist for more than 50 years, has died, the group’s longtime rep confirmed. No cause of death was cited.

The band’s Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard issued a statement:

“We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, TX. We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the ‘Top’. We will forever be connected to that ‘Blues Shuffle in C.’

“You will be missed greatly, amigo.”

Earlier this month, Gibbons and Beard played their first performances without Hill in more than 50 years, stating that the bassist had been forced to seek medical attention “to address a hip issue,” according to a statement, although his ailment was apparently more serious than they let on. “Per Dusty’s request the show must go on!,” the statement continued, and the band’s longtime guitar tech, Elwood Francis, filled in.

While ZZ Top was best known for their synthesizer-powered 1980s hits, they were a thoroughly Texan, heavy rock-blues band at heart, spawned from the same psychedelic scene that birthed Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators but keeping things roots and rocking throughout their more than 50-year career, even as they incorporated synthesized rhythms into their sound in the 1980s.

Hill was born in Dallas in 1949 and played cello in high school, which made for an easy transition to electric bass. He, his guitarist brother Rocky and future fellow ZZ Top bandmate Frank Beard, a drummer, played in local bands such as the Warlocks, the Cellar Dwellers and American Blues, working the same Texas touring circuits as ace guitarist Billy Gibbons’ band, the Moving Sidewalks.

The brothers parted company in 1968 over musical differences, and Hill and Beard moved to Houston, where they eventually united with Gibbons in ZZ Top. Gibbons had formed the band in 1969 and recorded a one-off independent single produced by manager Bill Ham, who would remain with them for decades. The act’s original bassist introduced the guitarist to Beard; Hill would join Gibbons and Beard for a gig in Beaumont, TX, on Feb. 10, 1970. The lineup remained the same for more than five decades: They celebrated their 50th anniversary at a San Antonio concert in February 2020.

Launched on London Records in 1971, the Houston-bred threesome secured its first major hit with the No. 8 LP “Tres Hombres” in 1973; the set included the raunchy single “La Grange,” a homage to the Chicken Ranch, the notorious bordello in the like-named Texas city. Another top 10 album, “Fandango!,” followed in 1975, powered by the FM-staple single “Tush.” Half of that album was recorded live in New Orleans, and captured the band’s powerful blues-rock groove.

By the end of the ‘70s, ZZ Top’s potent brand of gutsy, no-frills blues ‘n’ boogie had made it one of America’s top concert attractions; its elaborate 1976 Worldwide Texas Tour featured actual livestock on stage. They moved from London Records to Warner Bros. in 1979 for “Degüello,” which shifted 1 million copies.

While the popularity of “Degüello” hinted at bigger things to come, “El Loco” (1981) introduced both the sound and the look that would put the band over the top. The first hints of the sonic manipulation that would take center stage on “Eliminator” were heard on that set. Also, two years of tonsorial neglect between tours resulted in Gibbons’ and Hill’s long beards, which graced the album’s cover.

But it moved to another level of popularity with 1983’s “Eliminator,” which found Gibbons and his band mates experimenting with new technologies – guitar loops, manipulated vocals and synthesized bass and drums — that refreshed their sound.

The breakout success of three “Eliminator” singles – “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs” – and their accompanying videos, which featured car aficionado Gibbons’ like-named 1934 Ford coupe, lofted the band to a new level of commercial success and popular ubiquity. In the wake of “Recycler,” the band was cast as themselves in Bob Zemeckis’ “Back to the Future III” (1990).

“Eliminator” peaked at No. 9 and spent a remarkable 183 weeks on the American album charts, ultimately receiving diamond certification for sales of more than 10 million copies. The megahit album was succeeded by the quintuple-platinum “Afterburner” (1985) and the million-selling “Recycler” (1990).

In 1994, ZZ Top exited Warner Bros. for a highly publicized $35 million pact with RCA Records. With that move, Gibbons took on co-production duties with the band’s manager Bill Ham, who had helmed their studio work since the group’s debut single. The immediate result was the platinum album “Antenna.” Gibbons took the solo production reins on the group’s last two RCA releases, “XXX” (1999) and “Mescalero” (2003), and co-produced “La Futura” (2012) with Rick Rubin for his American Recordings imprint.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Jay Pickett, Veteran Soap Opera Actor, Dies at 60

Jay Pickett, an actor known for his roles in TV soap operas like “General Hospital” and “Days of Our Lives,” died on Friday while filming a movie in Idaho. He was 60.

Travis Mills, the director of “Treasure Valley,” which was set to star Mr. Pickett, said on Sunday that Mr. Pickett fell ill while preparing to shoot a scene near Oreana, Idaho. There was no official explanation for the cause of death, he said.

Jim Heffel, a co-star on “Treasure Valley,” said in a Facebook post that Mr. Pickett “died sitting on a horse ready to rope a steer in the movie.”

Mr. Mills said Mr. Pickett suddenly slumped over. “We were getting ready to film this scene, and he was just sitting there on horseback,” Mr. Mills said, adding that people on the set did CPR until paramedics arrived a few minutes later by helicopter. He was declared dead at the scene, Mr. Mills said.

“Treasure Valley,” a western about a man who rebuilds his life after a fire destroys his family, was being filmed where Mr. Pickett grew up and had many connections, Mr. Mills said. During car rides through the valley to find places to film, Mr. Mills recalled, Mr. Pickett would make comments such as “That’s where my brother lived” and “That’s where I went to elementary school.”

Jan Larison, Mr. Pickett’s younger sister, said, “His passion was to come back and make films about the lives he was raised around.”

Jay Harris Pickett, the fourth of five children, was born on Feb. 10, 1961, in Spokane, Wash., to E. Richard Pickett, a cattle broker, and Virginia Pickett, who worked in agriculture for the federal government.

The Pickett family moved about 400 miles south, to Caldwell, Idaho, where Jay was raised, Ms. Larison said. He graduated from Vallivue High School in 1980 and attended Treasure Valley Community College, where he played football and met the woman he would marry, Elena Bates.

After community college, he attended Boise State University, where he continued to play football, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree in theater arts, his sister said. Then, he went to the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned a master’s degree, also in theater.

While studying theater, Mr. Pickett played quarterback for his college football team and participated in rodeos, his sister said. His skills on the stage, on the field and in the saddle did not go unnoticed, particularly among some of Ms. Larison’s friends. “They all just wanted to come over and meet him,” she recalled.

In his 20s, Mr. Pickett began his acting career with small roles in the TV series “Rags to Riches,” “China Beach” and “Mr. Belvedere,” which all began airing in the 1980s.

Dennis ‘Dee Tee’ Thomas, Co-Founder of Kool & the Gang, Dies at 70

According to a press release, Thomas died “peacefully in his sleep” in New Jersey. Thomas had just performed with Kool & the Gang at their Los Angeles show at the Hollywood Bowl, which kicked off its 2021 season on July 4.

Thomas was an original member of the group, in which he played alto saxophone, flute, percussion and served as the “master of ceremonies” during the band’s concerts. Thomas “was known as the quintessential cool cat in the group, loved for his hip clothes and hats, and his laid-back demeanor,” the press release states. He was credited for coming up with the intro to their 1971 hit, “Who’s Gonna Take the Weight.”

Born on Feb. 9, 1951 in Orlando, Fla., Thomas co-founded Kool & the Gang in 1964 alongside brothers Ronald Bell and Robert “Kool” Bell, and friends Spike Mickens, Ricky Westfield, George Brown and Charles Smith. First calling themselves the Jazziacs, the band created their own fusion of jazz, R&B, soul and funk and eventually became Kool & the Gang in 1969.

Throughout the band’s legendary career, it has earned two Grammys and seven American Music Awards and has become the most sampled band of all time. They have sold over 70 million albums worldwide, and have produced 25 Top 10 R&B hits. Their most recent album, “Perfect Union,” was released this year and the band continues to perform.

In 2014, the band earned the Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award, and was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame the following year. Most recently, Thomas was interviewed for “Kool TV,” a series of animated shorts about each band member’s childhood and career. Thomas’ fellow Kool & the Gang co-founder, Ronald Bell, died in September 2020.

Thomas was a longtime resident of Montclair, N.J. and was married to Phynjuar Saunders Thomas. He is predeceased by his mother Elizabeth Lee Thomas, sister Darlene Thomas and his daughters, Michelle Thomas and Tracy Jackson. In addition to his wife Phynjuar, Thomas is survived by his daughter Tuesday Rankin, sons David Thomas and Devin Thomas, aunt Mary “Duggie” Jones, sisters Doris Mai McClary and Elizabeth Thomas Ross, brother Bill Mcleary and many nieces, nephews and grandchildren.

Trevor Moore Dies: Co-Founder Of The Whitest Kids U Know Was 41

Moore received his start in sketch comedy as a founding member and leader of the sketch comedy group  The Whitest Kids U Know. He wrote and directed on the Disney XD series, Walk the Prank, a series about four kids who pull off real pranks on unsuspecting people.

Most recently, he was the co-creator and executive producer for Disney’s series Just Roll With It, a comedy where the actors let their show audience choose what happens in various scenes, and he was the creator and host of The Trevor Moore Show on Comedy Central.

Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Moore became the world’s youngest published cartoonist with his book Scraps at age 132.

At 16, he began writing weekly cartoons for several newspapers in his home state of Virginia, then signed a deal with a production company to write and produce The Trevor Moore Show, a weekly sketch comedy program for his local TV station and their affiliates.

Moore moved to New York in 1999, where he earned a personal internship with Saturday Night Live’s executive producer Lorne Michaels. Moore’s success continued when he was selected for the NBC page program. There he met his future wife, Aimee, a fellow page, during his year in the program.

Moore, along with Zach Cregger, Sam Brown, Timmy Williams, and Darren Trumeter, was a founding member of The Whitest Kids U Know comedy troupe. The group originated in New York, but quickly gained national attention after winning Best Sketch Group at the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival in 2006.

That same year, they produced their self-titled series, which went on to run for five seasons on IFC. Clips from the show accumulated more than 100 million views on YouTube, and it produced two spinoff feature films: Miss March and The Civil War On Drugs.

Last year, the group launched an official Youtube channel featuring all of their popular sketches, commentaries and bonus materials. And they are currently in post production on their first animated feature film Mars, due out next year. Moore also frequently collaborated with Funny or Die and Comedy Central.

Ron Popeil, inventor and king of TV pitchmen, dies at 86

Ron Popeil, the quintessential TV pitchman and inventor known to generations of viewers for hawking products including the Veg-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, Mr. Microphone and the Showtime Rotisserie and BBQ, has died, his family said.

Popeil died “suddenly and peacefully” Wednesday at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his family said in a statement. He was 86. No cause of death was given.

Popeil essentially invented the popular image of the American television pitchman, whose novel products solved frustrating problems viewers didn’t know they had. He popularized much of the vernacular of late-night TV ads and infomercials, with lines like “Now how much would you pay?” and “Set it and forget it.”

Popeil, whose father was also an inventor-salesman, built his ability to sell things as a young man in the open-air markets of Chicago, where he moved as a teen in the 1940s after spending his earliest years in New York and Miami.

Building on an invention of his father’s, the Chop-o-Matic, he marketed the slicing-and-chopping machine he called the Veg-O-Matic, sold by the company he founded and named after himself — Ronco.

He would take the product-slinging style previously done at state fairs and Woolworth stores to television starting in the late 1950s, offering viewers a chance to skip stores and buy straight from the source with a simple phone call.

As his influence grew, he crafted an enthusiastic, guy-next-door presence that suffused the 1970s with commercials for such gadgets as the the Popeil Pocket Fisherman, a self-contained fishing apparatus, and Mr. Microphone, a then-groundbreaking wireless mic that was amplified through the nearest AM radio.

“But wait — there’s more,” he’d say in the ads.

Though Ronco Teleproducts went bankrupt in 1984, Popeil started from the bottom again and built himself and his company back up. By the 1990s, as the infomercial gained footing and cable television’s influence spread, he was doing full-length shows that evangelized about such devices as pasta makers, food dehydrators and “GLH” (Great-Looking Hair), which was commonly called “hair in a can.”

He appealed to consumers in part because he was a classic American showman, equal parts P.T. Barnum and Thomas Edison — an inventor and innovator, yes, but a popularizer as well, a man who saw consumers’ needs and then found accessible ways to entice them into making purchases.

In a 1997 Associated Press interview, he said his drive to invent was more than mercantile; it was a bit obsessive. “I have enough money today,” he said at the time. “But I can’t stop. If there’s a need for these things, I can’t help myself.”

He seemed always to have new products at the ready: the Ronco Electric Food Dehydrator, Popeil’s Pasta & Sausage Maker, the Inside the Eggshell Egg Scrambler, the Bagel Cutter, the Hav-A-Maid Mop, the Speed Tufting Kit, The Whip-O-Matic.

When home shopping networks arose, he found a natural home, and he sold Showtime Rotisseries in droves on QVC.

Popeil was constantly parodied in pop culture. He was sent up by Dan Akroyd in the early days of “Saturday Night Live” with his “Bass-O-Matic” sketch.

“Weird Al” Yankovic had a song on his “In 3-D” album titled “Mr. Popeil,” whose lyrics said, “I need a Veg-O-Matic! I need a pocket fisherman! I need a handy appliance that’ll scramble an egg while it’s still inside its shell! ... Help me, Mr. Popeil!”

Popeil was happy to take part in the parody himself, understanding and embracing his campy public image. He played or voiced himself on shows including “The X Files,” “The Simpsons” and “King of the Hill.”

Popeil is survived by his wife of 25 years Robin; daughters Kathryn, Lauren Contessa and Valentina; and four grandchildren. A fifth daughter, Shannon, died before him.