The ALL DEAD Club

Actor and comedian Duggie Brown dies aged 82

Mr Brown, who was born in Rotherham, first found fame in Ken Loach's 1969 film Kes, based on Barry Hines' novel.

His manager Lee Morgan said Mr Brown died on Tuesday morning with his wife, Jackie, by his side.

He appeared in soaps including Coronation Street and Brookside, as well as TV shows The Comedians and The Wheeltappers And Shunters Social Club.

Mr Morgan tweeted: "What an honour it was to work with Duggie. A born entertainer who loved his profession. RIP Duggie Brown. We love & salute you."

Tributes have also been paid by comedian Tommy Cannon, who described him as a "funny, funny man", and actor Neil Hurst, who said he was "genuinely one of the nicest and funniest guys in the business".

During a career spanning more than five decades, Mr Brown appeared in a range of documentaries and dramas, including All Creatures Great And Small, Heartbeat, Hotel Babylon, EastEnders, Holby City and My Brother's Keeper.

In 2002 he starred in the thriller A Is For Acid, based on the life of serial killer John George Haigh, alongside Martin Clunes and Keeley Hawes.

He also acted in stage productions and played the Fool in Shakespeare's King Lear for the Northern Broadsides Theatre Company's national tour. In recent years he appeared in the role of Mr Boo in Jim Cartwright's comedic play The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice.

Grim Reaper singer Steve Grimmett has died, aged 62

The musician led the British heavy metal band from 1982 – when he took over from the previous singer Paul DeMercado – until the group disbanded in 1988. In 2006, the band reformed under the moniker Steve Grimmett’s Grim Reaper, and were working on a new album before Grimmett’s death.

It was with Grimmett – who would go on to be their only constant member – in the line-up that Grim Reaper released their debut album, ‘See You In Hell’, in 1983. The record gave them their highest position on the Billboard 200 in the US, landing at Number 73. Two years later, their second album, ‘Fear No Evil’, peaked at Number 111, while in 1987, they shared their third album, ‘Rock You To Hell’.

A planned fourth album in the ‘80s was never released due to legal issues, and the band split up. When they reunited, it took them a decade to put out new material, but eventually did so with 2016’s ‘Walking In The Shadows’, which was followed by 2019’s ‘At The Gates’.

In between his two stints fronting Grim Reaper, Grimmett also led the thrash metal group Onslaught and heavy metallers Lionheart. In the ‘90s, his work with Grim Reaper was given fresh attention when the title tracks from the band’s first three albums featured on Beavis And Butt-Head.

Elsewhere, Grimmett also performed with The Steve Grimmett Band, GrimmStine and The Sanity Days, while he also appeared on tribute albums to the likes of Whitesnake, Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy and more.

Tributes have started to be paid to Grimmett online. Fellow new wave of British heavy metal band Troyen wrote on Twitter: “We’ve just heard the devastating news that Grim Reaper front man the Legend that is Steve Grimmett has sadly passed away. Rest In Peace sir, you will be missed. Our thoughts are with his wife Millie, family and band members at this sad time.”

Randy Martin Dies: The “Lone Wolf” Of DIY’s ‘Texas Flip N Move’ Was 65

Randy Martin, known as the “Lone Wolf” from the former DIY Network reality series Texas Flip N Move, died Wednesday at his home of liver cancer. He was 65.

His death was announced on his official Facebook page.

Martin’s co-stars from Texas Flip N Move, the Snow Sisters, issued a statement: “We are broken hearted over The Lone Wolf Randy Martin who passed away early this morning. Please pray for his wife and family as they navigate this difficult time. You will be missed.”

Texas Flip N Move started on the DIY Network in 2014. Martin made regular appearances in its first season and was heavily featured as a main cast member through 2017.

Martin is survived by his wife, Judy; and his children and grandchildren.

‘Beverly Hills Cop’ & ‘Crimson Tide’ Producer Mike Moder Dies At 86

Mike Moder, the Emmy-nominated producer whose credits included Beverly Hills Cop and Crimson Tide, died August 15. He was 86.

The son of director Dick Moder, he was born on April 25, 1936, in North Hollywood. He attended Notre Dame High and graduated from Loyola University before starting his career in the film industry in 1960. Moder’s credits include working as a first AD on Jeremiah Johnson, Little Big Man, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Rio Lobo, Diner and Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke, before he produced those big studio films among many other features and TV.

He shared an Emmy nom as a producer of the 1997 telepic Cinderella, starring Brandy Norwood.

Moder also was a production manager on dozens of TV shows and telepics, ranging from The Wild Wild West and miniseries Blind Ambition to Easy Street, Snoops, Father Dowling Mysteries, Jake and the Fatman and several Perry Mason and Diagnosis Murder TV movies. Per IMDb, he was executive in charge of production for the first seven seasons of ABC’s Matlock, starring Andy Griffith.

Virginia Patton Dies: Last ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ Adult Cast Member Was 97

Virginia Patton, who played George Bailey’s sister-in-law in the holiday staple It’s A Wonderful Life, died in an assisted living facilty on Aug. 18. She was 97.

Patton was Ruth Dakin Bailey in the 1946 film, married to war hero Harry Bailey. Her most prominent scene was at the Bedford Falls train station, when she meets George and Uncle Billy for the first time.

Virginia Ann Patton was born in Cleveland on June 25, 1925. Raised in Portland, Oregon, she went to Los Angeles after high school graduation to pursue an acting career.

She signed with Warner Bros. and made her movie debut in the musical Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943), starring Eddie Cantor, and appeared the films Janie (1944), Hollywood Canteen (1944) and Jack Benny’s The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945).

Patton, a niece of World War II General George Patton, came to It’s a Wonderful Life director Frank Capra’s attention via a USC play. The timing was fortuitous, as her Warner Bros. contract had lapsed. She read for Capra and he signed her.

After the 1946 filming of It’s a Wonderful Life, which did mediocre box office in theaters, but became a cult hit on TV, Patton had the female lead in The Burning Cross (1947), a movie about the Ku Klux Klan, and Black Eagle (1948), a Western.

She retired from acting after a supporting turn in The Lucky Stiff (1949).

Josephine Tewson Dies: British TV Comedy Star Of ‘Keeping Up Appearances’, Was 91

British veteran comedy actress Josephine Tewson, who found her biggest success in her sixties starring in one of the 1990s’ biggest TV sitcoms, has died aged 91.

Tewson was best known for playing Elizabeth, the living-on-her-nerves neighbour of Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances, from 1990 to 1995.

But she appeared in a string of other shows too, such as Shelley with Hywel Bennet and No Appointment Necessary with Roy Kinnear. Following the success of Keeping Up Appearances, the show’s writer Roy Clarke gave Tewson the role of Miss Davenport in Last of the Summer Wine, which she played from 2003 to 2010.

In a statement, her agent Jean Diamond said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Josephine Tewson.”

The actress died on Thursday at Denville Hall, a care home for actors and other members of the entertainment industry in north London.

Several decades before she enjoyed sitcom stardom, Tewson started her career in the theater, where she met her first husband, Leonard Rossiter, who went onto TV stardom in British comedy Rising Damp.

She worked alongside comedy greats including Charlie Drake, Dick Emery, Bob Monkhouse and Kenneth Williams, and became a regular alongside comedy legend Ronnie Barker, including frequent appearances on his primetime show with Ronnie Corbett, The Two Ronnies.

Ioane ‘John’ King Dies: Costar Of ‘Spartacus’ TV Series On Starz Was 49

Ioane ‘John’ King, one of the prominent cast members of the Starz drama Spartacus, has died at age 49 of adenocarcinoma cancer, which spread to his pancreas and other organs.

He announced his condition in January. No information on where he died was available.

The New Zealand actor played gladiator “Rhaskos” in the series.

Manu Bennett, who played Crixus in the show, paid tribute to his co-star on Instagram.

“On Spartacus, John was hired as an extra. But with a powerful presence & ever positive attitude amongst the cast & crew, won himself the speaking role of Rhaskos. I remember John most fondly for his huge grin & sparkle in his eye when he would welcome me & others onto set each day, offering the Gladiatorial forearm handshake & acknowledging in his deep raspy voice, ‘Brother!’”

His family said the actor “passed in the company of loving friends and family.”

“John leaves a big hole in this world, having been a wonderful husband, father, son, brother, friend and human being. Those of us lucky to have met him will carry on with his legacy of kindness, positive influence, hard work and love.”

King’s death is the second to strike the Spartacus cast. Costar Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2010 and died 18 months later at age 39.

Len Dawson Dies: Hall Of Fame Chiefs Quarterback, HBO ‘Inside The NFL’ Host Was 87

Len Dawson, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback who led the team to a now legendary Super Bowl victory in 1970 and would later establish a successful and long-running career as a sports broadcaster for, among others, NBC and HBO, died today in Kansas City just more than 10 days after entering hospice care. He was 87.

His death was announced by his family. In a statement to Kansas City’s KMBC, where Dawson had previously worked as a sports broadcaster, the family said, “With wife Linda at his side, it is with much sadness that we inform you of the passing of our beloved Len Dawson. He was a wonderful husband, father, brother and friend. Len was always grateful and many times overwhelmed by the countless bonds he made during his football and broadcast careers. He loved Kansas City and no matter where his travels took him, he could not wait to return home.”

Dawson, who in the late 1960s and early 1970s rivaled Joe Namath in the football-loving public’s imagination and reverence, had been an infrequently used backup player and had just recovered from a knee injury when he led the Chiefs to the team’s first Super Bowl championship. In a 23-7 routing over Minnesota Vikings, the victory and Dawson’s performance were nearly as dramatic and celebrated as the previous year’s Super Bowl win for Namath’s New York Jets.

Spending 13 of his 19 pro seasons with the Chiefs, Dawson was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

While still playing footbal, Dawson launched his sports broadcasting career in the mid-1960s with KMBC, forging a professional relationship with the station that would last well into the 2000s. From 1977 to 1982, he was an NBC analyst and from 1977 to 2001 co-hosted HBO’s Inside the NFL. Until 2017, he continued his broadcasting career for the Chief’s radio broadcasts.

In 2012, Dawson was presented with The Hall of Fame’s Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award.

Survivors include his wife, Linda. Complete information on additional survivors was not immediately available.

Gerald Potterton Dies: ‘Heavy Metal’ Director, Animator On ‘Yellow Submarine’ Was 91

Gerald Potterton, the London-born filmmaker and animator who directed the 1981 animated cult favorite Heavy Metal and contributed to the memorable “Liverpool” sequence in the 1968 Beatles film Yellow Submarine, died today at a Quebec hospital. He was 91.

His death was announced by the National Film Board of Canada. No cause was stated.

“Gerald came to Canada and the NFB to be part of a new wave of storytelling, one that was fresh and irreverent, and he brought great wit and creativity to every project,” said Claude Joli-Coeur, NFB Chairperson and Government Film Commissioner, in a statement. “He was also a builder, helping to lay the foundation for today’s independent Canadian animation industry with Potterton Productions…He was an exceptional artist and a truly nice man.”

Potterton had graduated from London’s Hammersmith Art School when he moved to Canada in 1954, working with the NFB before directing his own notable animated shorts in the early ’60s. Among his early credits were two Oscar-nominated films: My Financial Career (1962) and, in 1963, Christmas Cracker (1963), which he co-directed with Norman McLaren, Jeff Hale and Grant Munro.

He also directed live-action films, including the 1963 comedy The Ride and the acclaimed late-career Buster Keaton short film The Railrodder (1965).

Potterton had started his own Montreal-based studio Potterton Productions in 1967 when, the following year, he was invited by his friend, director George Dunning, to return to London to contribute to a highly anticipated Beatles film. Potterton did layout for what would come to be known as the “Liverpool” sequence of Dunning’s film featuring the song “Eleanor Rigby.”

In 1969, Potterton animated the “Pinter People” segment of the NBC Experiment in Television series. The segment was based on the work of playwright Harold Pinter.

Returning to his studio in Montreal, Potterton produced the 1971 Oscar-nominated animated short The Selfish Giant, based on an Oscar Wilde short story.

In 1981, Potterton directed Columbia Pictures’ animated science fiction-fantasy anthology film Heavy Metal, adapted from the magazine of the same name. With its graphic violence and sexuality, the film was pointedly aimed at the adult market, with good-versus-evil sci-fi fantasy tales voiced by a cast that included SCTV stars John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy and Harold Ramis, among others. Though only a modest success upon its release, the film’s heavy-metal-poster style of animation would prove influential, and its popular soundtrack included songs by Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Sammy Hagar, Journey and Nazareth, to name a few.

Subsequent credits include the 1983 short The Awful Fate of Melpomenus Jones and the 1985 TV-movie George and the Christmas Star. In 1987, he co-created the Canadian animated children’s series The Smoggies, which ran until 1991.

Potterton was selected by the World Animation Celebration in 1998 as one of “Ten Men Who Have Rocked the Animation World.” According to the NFB, there have been more than a dozen retrospectives and lifetime honors for his work over the years, including at the Ottawa Animation Film Festival in 1994 and the Seattle Film Festival in 1997.

Joe E. Tata Dies: ‘Beverly Hills, 90210 Actor’ Was 85

Joe E. Tata, the actor best known for playing Nat on Beverly Hills, 90210, has died. He was 85. His longtime 90210 costar Ian Ziering announced his death Thursday on Instagram. Tata’s character was the owner of the Peach Pit.

In 2018, Tata was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, according to.his daughter Kelly, who started a GoFundMe account to help with finances. She had served as her father’s caregiver until he “unwittingly signed documents which entered him into a conservatorship. He maintains that he agreed to this conservatorship under duress.”

Kelly Tata added she was admitted to a hospital “amid my own health struggles,” she wrote.

Born in New York City, Tata’s early career included roles on General Hospital, The Outer Limits and Mister Roberts. His career in TV flourished in the 1970s and ’80s — he appeared in multiple cop dramas like Mannix, Adam-12, The F.B.I. and The Streets of San Francisco — but he truly became a household name when he joined 90210 as the beloved owner of the Peach Pit. He was on the show for 10 seasons.

Last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev dies at 91

Mr Gorbachev, who took over in 1985, is best known for opening up the USSR and for his rapprochement with the West, but he was unable to prevent his country collapsing in 1991.

Many Russians blame him and his reformist policies for the country's demise.

The hospital where he died said he had been suffering from a long and serious illness.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his deepest condolences on Mr Gorbachev's death, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agency Interfax, according to Reuters.

Mr Gorbachev became general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, and de facto leader of the country, at the age of 54.

He was at the time the youngest member of the ruling council known as the Politburo, and was seen as a breath of fresh air after several ageing leaders.

His policy of glasnost, or openness, allowed people to criticise the government in a way which had been previously unthinkable.

But it also unleashed nationalist sentiments in many regions of the country which eventually led to its collapse.

Internationally he reached arms control deals with the US and refused to intervene when eastern European nations rose up against their Communist rulers.

He is seen in the West as an architect of reform who created the conditions for the end of the Cold War.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 "for the leading role he played in the radical changes in East-West relations".

But in the new Russia that emerged after 1991 he has been on the fringes of politics, focusing on educational and humanitarian projects.

He made one ill-fated attempt to return to political life in 1996, receiving just 0.5% of the vote in presidential elections.

In recent years his health has been in decline and he has been in and out of hospital.

He will be buried in Moscow's Novodevichy cemetery, the resting place of many prominent Russians, next to his wife Raisa who died in 1999, Tass news agency said.

Richard Roat Dies: Actor In ‘Seinfeld’, ‘Friends’, Was 89

Richard Roat, a character actor with 130-plus credits spanning nearly a half-century who appeared in many of TV’s biggest shows including Seinfeld, Friends, Cheers, Murphy Brown, Dallas, Hawaii Five-O and Happy Days, has died. He was 89.

Roat died August 5 in Orange County, CA, according to his family. No other details were available.

Born on July 3, 1933, in Hartford, CT, Roat had a couple of bit TV roles before being cast as Dr. Jerry Chandler in the 1962 pilot of NBC soap opera The Doctors. He appeared in more than 170 episodes during the first year of the which, would go on to air for two decades.

He guested on a 1965 episode of The Fugitive and became a busy character actor during the following decade. Roat appeared in memorable 1970s comedies and dramas as Hawaii Five-O, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Columbo, Cannon, Kojak, The Bob Newhart Show, Police Story, Vega$, Fantasy Island, Happy Days, Charlie’s Angeles and Dallas.

He continued to be an in-demand TV character actor throughout the 1980s and ’90s, appearing on such hits as 7th Heaven, Cybill, The Practice, Ellen, Coach, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Murphy Brown, The Nanny, Melrose Place, Blossom, Grace Under Fire, Living Single, Mad About You, Lois & Clark, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Night Court, Baywatch, Murphy’s Law, Simon & Simon, L.A. Law, Matlock, ALF, St. Elsewhere, Hart to Hart and others.

William Reynolds Dies: ‘The F.B.I.’ Actor Was 90

William Reynolds, who portrayed Special Agent Tom Colby for six seasons on the television series The F.B.I., died August 24 from non-Covid pneumonia complications, his son Eric Regnolds confirms. He was 90.

Born William de Clercq Regnolds on December 9, 1931, in Los Angeles, he began his career under contract to Universal Pictures and had credits in Carrie (1952), as Laurence Olivier’s son, and The Son of Ali Baba, where he was Tony Curtis’ best friend. For 20th Century Fox, he portrayed Rommel’s son opposite James Mason in The Desert Fox.
Following his military service in Japan during the Korean War, Reynolds co-starred in Cult of the Cobra (1955). In 1959, he starred as trumpeter Pete Kelly in the television series Pete Kelly’s Blues. In 1960-1961, he starred as air charter entrepreneur and adventurer Sandy Wade on the ABC Warner Bros. Television series, The Islanders, while also appearing as a World War II officer in Rod Serling’s acclaimed Twilight Zone episode, The Purple Testament.

Other film credits include The Battle at Apache Pass, Francis Goes to West Point, The Mississippi Gambler, Gunsmoke, There’s Always Tomorrow, Away All Boats and The Land Unknown. Television work included roles in Bronco, Wagon Train, The Roaring 20s, Cheyenne, Dragnet and Maverick.

After making guest appearances on the first two seasons of The FBI, Reynolds won the big break of his career, taking on the part of stalwart and heroic Agent Colby, opposite Efrem Zimbalist’s Inspector Erskine, for six seasons on the hit ABC series.

Luke Bell Dies: Country Singer Who Went Missing 10 Days Ago Found Dead At 32

Country singer-songwriter Luke Bell, whose throwback style blended strains of Texas, Nashville and Bakersfield, has died, according to his friend and collaborator Matt Kinman. He was 32.

Bell, who battled severe bipolar disorder, had traveled Arizona with Kinman to work, but went missing on Saturday, August 20th in Tucson. He was found dead about a week later, according to SavingCountryMusic.com, “not far from where he disappeared, and in a manner we all feared he would be when we first heard the news.” His cause of death is still pending an autopsy.

Kinman, who had played with Bell for the past six years told the outlet, “We came down here to Arizona, to work down here, play some music, and he just took off. He was in the back of the truck. I went in to get something to eat. I came out, and he’d got out of the truck and left.”

After he went missing Kinman speculated, “He could be in Tucson. But it’s possible he jumped a freight train,” which wasn’t unusual for Bell. “Semi-homeless and generally adrift,” according to SaveCountryMusic, Bell hitchhiked and couch surfed as he honed his chops during his formative musical years.

In 2015, Rolling Stone described his sound as “classic honky-tonk with a wink and a yodel.” That unique blend earned him opening spots with Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Jr. and Dwight Yoakam.

Bell released three albums: a self-published debut in 2012, Don’t Mind If I Do in 2014 and an eponymous disc in 2016.

Earnie Shavers Dies: Boxing Great Known For Power Punching And Heavyweight Title Fights Was 78

Earnie Shavers, considered one of boxing’s hardest punchers during his long career, died Thursday at 78. No cause was revealed in reports.

Shavers was best known for his work in the 1970s, although he was active from 1969 through 1995. Overall, he was 74-14-1 with 68 knockouts in his career. He fought Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes for the heavyweight title, losing to Ali in a 15-round decision in 1977 at Madison Square Garden. It was a close decision and Ali needed a strong final round to pull out the victory.

After the fight, Ali praised Shavers’ power. “Earnie hit me so hard, it shook my kinfolk in Africa,” Ali said.

Ali was not the only heavyweight impressed with Shavers. Shavers fought heavyweight champ Larry Holmes twice, the first time being a non-title bout on March 25, 1978 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, his first after losing to Ali. Holmes won a 12-round decision over Shavers in that match, and in his next fight, beat Ken Norton to win the vacant WBC title.

Shavers and Holmes fought for the WBC belt at Caesars on Sept. 28, 1979. In the seventh round, Shavers knocked Holmes down. Holmes got up and proceeded to stop Shavers in the 11th.

After the fight, Holmes said the punch Shavers hit him with to drop him was the hardest he’d ever been hit.

Shavers made several comebacks, ending things after a second-round knockout loss when he was 48 years old.

The biggest win of his career was in March 1979, when he knocked out Ken Norton in the first round at the Las Vegas Hilton. He also had a win over former heavyweight champion Jimmy Ellis, as well as touted Jimmy Young.

Pat Stay, acclaimed battle rapper stabbed to death, was 36.

Friends of acclaimed Dartmouth, N.S., battle rapper Pat Stay are remembering him for his quick wit and kind and humble nature.

Stay was killed in Halifax early Sunday morning, a victim of a stabbing police have deemed a homicide. He was 36 and internationally renowned for his skills behind the microphone.

"He was right on the verge of breaking through," said Behnny Mennier, a close friend of Stay who knew him since their days at Northbrook Elementary School in Dartmouth. "He's loved and he'll always be remembered."

Mennier described Stay as a "gentle giant" who would go above and beyond to make others feel better.

"He always had time for everybody. He had the kindest words to speak to anybody. If they were upset, he could read their situation and fix it instantly with his drop-of-a-dime humour," he said.

Stay's appreciation for hip hop began at an early age through Stay's older brother, Mennier said.

"We used to rap when we were kids ... he never got big headed, he was always just humble Pat," Mennier said.

Mennier said he loves that Stay is getting recognition for his skills.

High-profile hip hop artists like Eminem and Drake and local artists have posted condolences.

Mennier last saw Stay on Saturday night at a wedding reception. When Mennier was getting ready to leave, he and Stay hugged.

"His battle rap persona — that was him in his element. But outside that part of it, he was also a very sweet, generous, caring person," Hawkins said.

Verena Rizg saw those same things in Stay. The spoken word artist and personal friend told CBC's Information Morning she met Stay years ago through friends.

"You have this battle rapper who, on stage, comes across as this very strong, ferocious-type being … but then in person, anyone who knows him would tell you that he's a gentle giant," Rizg said.

"He didn't want to be seen as too much of a softy, but he would always speak about that, even on his social media about how much he cared about people."

Tremaine Emmerson, aka Critical aka Critty, was the first person to ever battle Pat Stay in Nova Scotia. After that initial battle, he told CBC's Information Morning the two became friends.

Of that first battle, Emmerson said Pat "was a problem."

"He was the [greatest of all time] right out of the gates, like I didn't even know what I was getting myself into ... he was the man," Emmerson said. "He whooped me clearly, like three rounds to zero. It was crazy how good he was."

What set Stay apart, Emmerson said, was his cleverness.

"He could just do everything and he could just do it good … he was the best at that stuff, when it came to the wittiness and the clever lines, even the comebacks, he was the best."

‘Ghost Story’ and ‘The Talisman’ Author Peter Straub Has Passed Away at 79

We’ve learned the terribly sad news from frequent collaborator Stephen King this afternoon that American novelist and poet Peter Straub has passed away at the age of 79.

Stephen King tweets this afternoon, “It’s a sad day because my good friend and amazingly talented colleague and collaborator, Peter Straub, has passed away.

“Working with him was one of the great joys of my creative life.”

King’s collaborations with Peter Straub include 1984 novel The Talisman, soon to be adapted into a Netflix series, as well as the novel Black House decades later in 2001.

Peter Straub’s horror novels also include Julia in 1975, If You Could See Me in 1977, and Ghost Story in 1979, the latter of which became one of his most well-known works.

Straub’s Ghost Story was turned into the same-titled feature film in 1981.

Peter Straub also wrote the novels Shadowland (1980), Floating Dragon (1983), Koko (1988), Mystery (1990), The Hellfire Club (1995), Mr. X (1999), and A Dark Matter (2010).

Neil Gaiman writes on Twitter, “One of the best writers I’ve read, one of the best friends I’ve known. Always kind, funny, irascible, brilliant. Once performed the Crow position in yoga, in a Milwaukee WI men’s room, because he was fearless & proud of his yoga. I’ll miss you Peter.”

All of us here at BD would like to send our deepest condolences to the friends, family, and colleagues of Peter Straub, whose work will live on forever in the worlds of fantasy and horror.

Marsha Hunt Dies: Hollywood Actress Who Confronted HUAC Was 104

[i]Marsha Hunt, a veteran actress of the Golden Age of film, radio and Broadway who later saw her career wither over her protests against the infamous House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), died of natural causes on Sept. 7 in Los Angeles.

Hunt starred in more than 60 films for Paramount, MGM and Republic, starting her career in 1935. She also appeared in more than 30 staged productions, including six on Broadway.

In television’s early days, Hunt appeared as Viola in Twelfth Night, the first Shakespeare play to be aired coast to coast. She hosted and guest starred twice on Your Show Of Shows, featuring Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, and Carl Reiner. Numerable live and recorded guest appearances followed through the decades.

But her name appeared in Red Channels, an anti-communist pamphlet that was said to wield considerable influence over TV and film studios.

Red Channels accused Hunt’s membership in the Committee for the First Amendment, which included Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. The group went to Washington in 1947 to protest the imprisonment of 10 writers, directors and producers for contempt of Congress. They had refused to reveal their political allegiances to the House Un-American Activities Committee.

While Hunt was never jailed or charged with any crime, work became harder to find. The Washington Post reports that Hunt twice signed anti-communist loyalty oaths to procure jobs in film and TV, but that she drew the line at taking out an advertisement in trade papers.

Hunt worked periodically after the blacklist era, including a role as the mother of a disfigured war veteran in 1971’s Johnny Got His Gun” (1971).

Jack Ging Dies: Actor In ‘Mannix’ And ‘The A-Team’ Was 90

Jack Ging, an actor who had more than 50 film and television roles from the 1950s through the 1990s, died Sept. 9 at his home in La Quinta, Calilf. No cause was given

Ging was best known as General Harlan “Bull” Fulbright on NBC’s The A-Team, and was a recurring character as Lt. Dan Ives in the detective show Mannix in the 1960s. He was also known for a supporting role in the final season of Tales of Wells Fargo, starring Dale Robertson.

Born to farmers in Oklahoma, he served in the US Marine Corps for four years and was honorably discharged. He went on to play college football at the University of Oklahoma, scoring five touchdowns during his career there and appeared with the team in the 1954 Orange Bowl. He later played briefly for the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League.

Film credits included the Clint Eastwood films Sniper’s Ridge, Where the Red Fern Grows, Hang ‘Em High, Play Misty For Me, and High Plains Drifter. He also appeared in Die Sister, Die, Sssssss, That Man Bolt, and the TV movies Terror in the Sky and The Disappearance of Flight 412.

Jean-Luc Godard Dies: Pioneering French Director Was 91

Jean-Luc Godard, a leading figure of the French New Wave, has died. He was 91. The French newspaper Liberation first reported the news which was confirmed to Deadline by a source close to the filmmaker.

A family representative told the BBC that Godard died by assisted suicide in Switzerland.

Best known for his radical and politically driven work, Godard was among the most acclaimed directors of his generation with classic films such as Breathless (À bout de souffle), which catapulted him onto the world scene in 1960. The film was from a treatment by his contemporary and former friend François Truffaut and followed the story of a young American woman in Paris, played by Hollywood star Jean Seberg, and her doomed affair with a young rebel on the run, played by Jean-Paul Belmondo.

President Emmanuel Macron of France paid tribute to the director with a statement on Twitter, calling him the “iconoclastic of New Wave filmmakers.”

Born in Paris in 1930, Godard grew up and attended school in Nyon, Switzerland. After moving back to Paris after finishing school in 1949, Godard found a home amongst the burgeoning group of young film critics in the city’s ciné clubs. Godard began writing for the new film magazines, including Andre Bazin’s soon-to-be-influential Cahiers du Cinema.

Godard is best known for his seminal work of the 1960s, including Le mépris (Contempt), starring Brigitte Bardot, and Le Petit Soldat, which was banned until 1963, and starred the director’s future wife, Anna Karina. Godard was married to Karina from 1961 to 1965. It was with Karina that Godard enjoyed some of his most memorable screen collaborations, including in 1962’s Vivre sa vie, Bande à part (1964), and Pierrot le Fou (1965).

In 1970, Godard met filmmaker Anne-Marie Miéville who would become a regular collaborator, and later a romantic partner after the end of his second marriage to actress and writer Anne Wiazemsky, who had starred in his 1967 political satire La Chinoise. Godard continued to work prolifically in his later years and enjoyed what many described as a late-career renaissance in the early 2000s starting with In Praise of Love (2001), which screened at Cannes followed by Film Socialisme (2010).

Godard won major European film awards including Berlin’s Golden Bear for 1965’s Alphaville and the Golden Lion at Venice for 1985’s First Name: Carmen. His most recent film The Image Book (2018) played in competition at Cannes and picked up the special Palme d’Or. However, Godard never received a competitive Academy Award nomination. In 2010, the Academy awarded the director an honorary Oscar but he skipped the ceremony. And when asked by a reporter what the award meant to him, the director who had been a longtime critic of Hollywood and its institutions responded: “Nothing.”

“If the Academy likes to do it, let them do it,” he said. “But I think it’s strange. I asked myself: Which of my films have they seen? Do they actually know my films? The award is called The Governor’s Award. Does this mean that Schwarzenegger gives me the award?”

The former Culture Minister of France, Jack Lang, told France Info radio this morning that Godard was “Unique, absolutely unique… He wasn’t just cinema, he was philosophy, poetry.”